Early modern warfare Books

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Book SynopsisSheds new light on the political motivations of homefront clergymen during wartime, revealing how and why the Civil War stands as the US's first concerted campaign to check the ministry's freedom of religious expression.Trade ReviewTimothy L. Wesley contributes to what is becoming a deep and diverse literature on religion in the Civil War era. . . . Wesley adds nuance to this important discussion with a keen sense of change over time and regional variation." - Journal of Southern History"Timothy L. Wesley's useful new study examines the ways in which the clergy, laity, denominational bodies, and national authorities, responded when a minister addressed civil and political issues from behind the sacred desk. This narrow focus represents a welcome addition to a field in which it would be easy to conclude that religion was simply in the Civil War era ether—everywhere and nowhere at the same time...a fine contribution to our understanding of religion and the Civil War, and to our understanding of the clergy's place in that struggle." - The Journal of Southern Religion"The strongest element of the book analytically is Wesley's effort to create a taxonomy of preacher politics. . . . The Politics of Faith during the Civil War is a noteworthy contribution for relentlessly returning the religious class to its rightful place at the political center of everything that brought the war on and fought it through." - Civil War History"[A] thought-provoking and ambitious volume. . . . This book uncovers a previously overlooked chapter in the history of civil liberties in wartime." - Reviews in American History"[Wesley's] wide-ranging scope, extensive research, and at times downright contrarianism make his book not only an intriguing read, but also an important contribution to the ever-expanding scholarship on the American Civil War's religious history." - Fides et Historia"[A] fine volume….Anyone interested in nineteenth-century American religion should read Wesley's work." - Church History"Wesley's book is an important contribution to our understanding of religion's significant influence on the home front during the war." - Civil War Book Review"In taking up this topic, Wesley has offered one of the most helpful studies to date for why religion mattered in the lively and often rough-and-tumble political world of the Civil War." - Civil War Monitor"The Politics of Faith During the Civil War is an excellent book about the influence of home-front ministers during the Civil War era, every bit as interesting a subject as the oft-covered role of ministers as chaplains to the opposing armies...Highly recommended." - Civil War Medicine and Writing"Wesley has...made an original contribution to our understanding of the war years through his study of ministers on all sides of the conflict." - American Catholic Studies

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Book SynopsisThis volume of French eyewitness accounts of Waterloo, published for the first time in full in English, completes Andrew Field's pioneering work on the French experience in this decisive battle. These vivid recollections add a new dimension to our understanding of what happened on 18 June 1815. Readers will now be in a position to come to their own conclusions and they can compare the French accounts with those of soldiers from the allied armies, in particular the British, which have largely determined our assumptions about the battle for the last 200 years. They will also gain a heightened insight into the trauma that the French eyewitnesses went through on the battlefield and afterwards as they tried to explain and come to terms their loss. This second volume features graphic descriptions of the battle as it was remembered by men of the 2nd and 6th corps, cavalry, artillery and Imperial Guard and medical services of Napoleon's army. Their words give us not only a telling inside view their actions during that extraordinary day, but they also record in graphic detail what they saw and show us how they reacted to Napoleon's historic defeat.

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Book SynopsisThe English reformers of the 1530s, with Thomas Cromwell at their head, continued to have a strong belief in kingly rule and authority, in contrast to their radical approach to the power of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Resisting the king was tantamount to resisting God in their eyes, and even on a matter of conscience the will of the king should prevail. Yet just over 100 years later, Charles I was called the ''man of blood'', and Oliver Cromwell famously declared that ''we will cut off his head with the crown on it''. But how did we get from the one to the other? How did the deferential Reformation become a regicidal revolution? Following on from his biography of Thomas Cromwell, John Schofield examines how the English character and the way it perceived royal rule changed between the time of Thomas Cromwell and that of his great-great-grandnephew Oliver.

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Book SynopsisThe Avars arrived in Europe from the Central Asian steppes in the mid-sixth century CE and dominated much of Central and Eastern Europe for almost 250 years. Fierce warriors and canny power brokers, the Avars were more influential and durable than Attila's Huns, yet have remained hidden in history. Walter Pohl's epic narrative, translated into...Trade ReviewWalter Pohl has succeeded in stripping much of this veil of mystery from the Avars.... a heterogeneous group from central Asia who dominated the Byzantine Danube frontier in a complicated relationship that saw raids, wars, trade, and the payment of large annual sums of tribute. In tracing the history of the Avars and the peoples they dominated or fought and traded with, this is an illuminating history of southeast Europe in the early Middle Ages. * Speculum *This volume contains a wealth of information and informed discussion; it will repay careful study by anyone involved in the late Roman and early medieval period, and will remain the standard guide into the foreseeable future. * English Historical Review *Walter Pohl picks his way judiciously though the minefield of primary sources—fragmentary and contradictory—and secondary interpretations of varied value. His solid medievalist training coupled with common sense often balk at the most fanciful interpretations. The documentation assembled by Pohl is impressive; the use he made of it commands respect. Future research on all questions concerning the Avars, henceforth cannot bypass this very important book. * Journal of Asian History *Though the book was first published in German in 1988, this English version includes many revisions and updates and will be the definitive English-language study of the Avar empire for years to come. It will be invaluable for those interested in medieval history or in the impact of nomadic steppe empires on sedentary civilizations. * Choice *The book clearly stands as a monumental starting point of any future research on the Avars. Pohl and Cornell University Press deserve praise for publishing this important work of scholarship in English. * Studies in Late Antiquity *One wonders how it could have taken thirty years for the appearance of this, the first English edition of Walter Pohl's seminal work. But now that it is finally accessible to a much wider readership, it must be made clear that The Avars is more than just a translation. * Journal of the Australian Early Medieval Association *Table of ContentsList of Maps Timeline Preface 1. Approaching the Avars 1.1. Marginal Europeans? 1.2. Sources and Prejudices 1.3. Steppe Research and Its Methodological Problems 2. The Avar Migration 2.1. Constantinople 558 2.2. The Empire and the Steppe Peoples 2.3. Fugitives from the East 2.4. Avars or Pseudo-Avars? 2.5. The Advance of the Avars 2.6. Byzantium and the Turks 2.7. The Discovery of Europe 2.8. Decisive Years 2.9. 568: A Turning Point 3. The New Power, 567–90 3.1. The First Attack on Sirmium 3.2. Between Peace and War 3.3. Baian's Alliance with Byzantium 3.4. The Conquest of Sirmium 3.5. 583/84: Avar Raids and Symbolic Politics 3.6. 585/86: Slavic Raids and the Bookolabras Affair 3.7. 587: The War in Thrace 3.8. The Carpathian Basin in the Later Sixth Century: The Archaeological Evidence 3.9. Cultures around Keszthely 4. Avars and Slavs 4.1. Slavs before the Avars: Perceptions and Origins 4.2. The Saint and the Barbarians 4.3. Slavic Campaigns and Memories of Avars on the Greek Peninsula 4.4. The Obor and His Slavs 4.5. Avar Rule and Slavic Expansion 4.6. Becoming Slavs 5. The Balkan Wars of Maurice, 591–602 5.1. Maurice's Campaign and the Date of the Wars 5.2. The Avars on the Offensive 5.3. 593: Attacks on the Slavs North of the Danube 5.4. 594: The Limits of the Slavic War 5.5. 595: The Illyrian War 5.6. The Avars' Western Policy and the Slavs 5.7. 598: Only the Plague Can Stop the Avars 5.8. 599: The Khagan under Pressure 5.9. 600–602: The End of Imperial Politics on the Danube 6. Life and Organization in the Avar Empire 6.1. Nomads, Warriors, Steppe Peoples 6.2. "Their Life Is War" 6.3. The Early Avar Khaganate 6.4. The Avars and Byzantium 6.5. Avar Gold: Prestige, Gifts, Representation 6.6. Logades and Warriors 6.7. Forms of Production and Distribution 6.8. Exchanges and Their Limits 6.9. Religion and Ritual 6.10. The Development of Identities in the Avar Empire 7. The Seventh Century 7.1. Consolidation and New Offensives 7.2. The Surprise Attack on the Emperor 7.3. 626: The Siege of Constantinople 7.4. Samo 7.5. Croat Migrations? 7.6. Alciocus and Kuvrat 7.7. Kuver and Asparukh 7.8. Continuity and Cultural Change 8. The Century of the Griffin 8.1. Ways of Life in Archaeological Evidence 8.2. The Hierarchy of the Late Avar State 8.3. Limes Certus: The Avars and the West 8.4. The Collapse of Avar Power 8.5. Why Did the Avars Disappear? 8.6. Conclusion Appendix: Amount of Subsidies Paid by Byzantiumto the Avars Abbreviations Notes Sources Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisWaterloo is one of the most famous battles in history and it has given rise to a vast and varied literature. The strategy and tactics of the battle and the entire Waterloo campaign have been analysed at length. The commanders, manoeuvres and critical episodes, and the intense experiences of the men who took part, have all been recorded in minute detail. But the organization, structure and fighting strength of the armies that fought in the battle have received less attention, and this is the subject of Philip Haythornthwaite\'s detailed, authoritative and engaging study. Through a close description of the structure and personnel of each of the armies he builds up a fascinating picture of their makeup, their methods and their capabilities. The insight he offers into the contrasting styles and national characteristics of the forces that came together on the Waterloo battlefield gives a fresh perspective on the extraordinary clash of arms that ended the Napoleonic era.

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Book SynopsisThe Oxford Handbook of the American Revolution introduces scholars, students and generally interested readers to the formative event in American history. In thirty-three individual essays, the Handbook provides readers with in-depth analysis of the Revolution's many sides.Table of ContentsList of Maps ; Contributors ; Introduction: American Revolutions,Edward G. Gray and Jane Kamensky ; Part I. Cultures and Crises ; 1. Britain's American Problem: The International Perspective, P. J. Marshall ; 2. The Unsettled Periphery: The Backcountry on the Eve of the American Revolution, William B. Hart ; 3. The Polite and the Plebian, Michael Zuckerman ; 4. Political Protest and the World of Goods, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich ; 5. The Imperial Crisis, Craig B. Yirush ; 6. The Struggle Within: Colonial Politics on the Eve of Independence, Michael A. McDonnell ; 7. The Democratic Moment: The Revolution and Popular Politics, Ray Raphael ; 8. Independence before and during the Revolution, Benjamin H. Irvin ; Part II. War ; 9. The Continental Army, Caroline Cox ; 10. The British Army and the War of Independence, Stephen Conway ; 11. The War in the Cities, Mark A. Peterson ; 12. The War in the Countryside, Allan Kulikoff ; 13. Native Peoples in the Revolutionary War, Jane T. Merritt ; 14. The African Americans' Revolution, Gary B. Nash ; 15. Women in the American Revolutionary War, Sarah M. S. Pearsall ; 16. Loyalism, Edward Larkin ; 17. The Revolutionary War and Europe's Great Powers, Paul W. Mapp ; 18. Funding the Revolution: Monetary and Fiscal Policy in Eighteenth-Century America, Stephen Mihm ; Part III. A Revolutionary Settlement ; 19. The Impact of the War on British Politics, Harry T. Dickinson ; 20. The Trials of the Confederation, Terry Bouton ; 21. A More Perfect Union: The Framing and Ratification of the Constitution, Max M. Edling ; 22. The Evangelical Ascendancy in Revolutionary America, Susan Juster ; 23. The Problems of Slavery, Christopher Leslie Brown ; 24. Rights, Eric Slauter ; 25. The Empire That Britain Kept, Eliga H. Gould ; Part IV. New Orders ; 26. The American Revolution and a New National Politics, Rosemarie Zagarri ; 27. Republican Art and Architecture, Martha J. McNamara ; 28. Print Culture after the Revolution, Catherine O'Donnell ; 29. Republican Law, Christopher L. Tomlins ; 30. Discipline, Sex, and the Republican Self, Clare A. Lyons ; 31. The Laboring Republic, Graham Russell Gao Hodges ; 32. The Republic in the World, 1783-1803, J. M. Opal ; 33. America's Cultural Revolution in Transnational Perspective, Leora Auslander ; Index

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Book SynopsisThe story of Waterloo, the battle that finally ended Napoleon's imperial dreams: how it was fought, how it has been remembered, and what it has come to mean.Trade ReviewAn essential book for understanding the complex national attitudes to the commemoration of Waterloo. * Chris May, Battlefield *A brilliant, even-handed short study * David Horspool, Books of the Year 2015, Guardian *A strikingly original analysis of responses to Waterloo and the memory of it. * History Today, Gary Sheffield *A fascinating read * The Good Book Guide *Lucid, measured and fascinating. * BBC History magazine, Tim Clayton *Alan Forrest offers a good discussion of the events leading up to the battle, and its subsequent ripples. * Victor Davis Hanson, Times Literary Supplement *Original, interesting and elegant To fail to read Waterloo would be quite unthinkable. * British Journal of Military History, Charles Esdaile *An excellent book * Literary Review, Saul David *Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: The Genesis of the Waterloo Campaign 3: The Battle 4: The Return of Peace: First Responses to Waterloo 5: Eye-witness Accounts 6: Wellington, Waterloo, and British Identity 7: Waterloo and the Napoleonic Legend 8: Waterloo in German, Dutch and Belgian Memory Further Reading Notes Index

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Book SynopsisThis crucial period in Russia's history has, up until now, been neglected by historians, but here Brian L. Davies' study provides an essential insight into the emergence of Russia as a great power.For nearly three centuries, Russia vied with the Crimean Khanate, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Ottoman Empire for mastery of the Ukraine and the fertile steppes above the Black Sea, a region of great strategic and economic importance â arguably the pivot of Eurasia at the time.The long campaign took a great toll upon Russia's population, economy and institutions, and repeatedly frustrated or redefined Russian military and diplomatic projects in the West. The struggle was every bit as important as Russia's wars in northern and central Europe for driving the Russian state-building process, forcing military reform and shaping Russia's visions of Empire. Trade Review"Thought-provoking insights will doubtless spark debate in many a graduate seminar. ... Hightly recommended." - CHOICE April 2008 Vol. 45 (W.L. Urban, Monmouth College, IL) 'Davies has written a complex history of a complex and significant borderland.' – The Russian ReviewTable of Contents1. Colonization, War, and Slaveraiding on the Black Sea Steppe in the Sixteenth Century 2. Muscovy’s Southern Borderland Defense Strategy, 1500–1635 3. The Belgorod Line 4. The Ukrainian Quagmire 5. The Chyhyryn Campaigns and the Wars of the Holy League 6. The Balance of Power at Century’s End

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Book SynopsisA concise guide to one of the most important clashes of the Napoleonic Wars, showcasing Napoleon's military genius

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Book SynopsisDrawing on an exhaustive chronological survey of pre-Columbian maps, including the controversial Yale Vinland Map, this book boldly challenges conventional accounts of Europe's discovery of the New World.Trade ReviewThere are eighty-six items in Enterline's chronological survey, dating from Ptolemy's Geographia in the second century to Hans Poulson Resen's map of Vinland, 1605. These include maps, manuscripts, books, voyages and other events, all testifying to the breadth and inclusiveness of Enterline's research. Some will appear more convincing and pertinent than others but together they are marshaled to account for the eventual appearance of North America as a geographical entity separate from Asia... Erikson, Eskimos, and Columbus is a book worth the serious consideration of scholars interested in late medieval and early Renaissance geography and cartography. -- John Parker Terrae Incognitae The value of the book [is] as a source of information on medieval and Renaissance geography and the maps produced by the scholars and navigators of the period... Enterline's questing mind does not neglect problematic information, and provides reasoned and balanced interpretations of potentially valuable documents that are ignored by most surveys. For the reader who wishes a comprehensive introduction to a fascinating subject, guided by an author [with] stimulating ideas... this book is vigorously recommended. -- Robert McGhee The Beaver: Canada's History Magazine The author argues that cartographic knowledge of northern America was in fact transmitted by Eskimos to Norsemen in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, and that the result was subsequently incorporated in maps and charts. Enterline supports his theory by convincingly showing that parts of the coastline and contours of islands in northern Europe, as shown in early maps and charts, conform almost exactly to coastlines of northern America... He has examined pre-sixteenth century cartographic and written evidence, such as maps, charts and travel reports. He analysed and compared the images and descriptions for proof of early knowledge of the existence of the New World. The author has done this thoroughly and in a professional way... Erikson, Eskimos and Columbus is the result of thorough research, and the conclusions, if perhaps controversial to some, have been carefully considered before being written down. -- Willem F. J. Moerzer Bruyns International Journal of Maritime History Enterline presents a plausible scenario for the transmission of Thule Eskimo and Greenland Norse geographic knowledge into the worldview of late medieval cartographers. His hypothesis will be controversial and it will stimulate scholarly debate for many years to come. It is almost certainly too extreme in its claims but it also probably contains a significant core of truth. The Johns Hopkins University Press is to be congratulated for taking a speculative chance on a speculative book. Sixteenth Century Journal This rather controversial book takes an unusual approach to the question of the sources of geographical information on which pre-Columbian European maps of America were based... While the book is for believers, its arguments are interesting and well-presented, making it an appropriate addition to most collections. Map and Geography Round Table (MAGERT) Newsletter 2002 Enterline's extensive references are well cited and he notes areas still open to interpretation. The argument proceeds logically from one point to the next and seems, to this non-specialist, to be soundly based on credible evidence. The writing style is engaging and, despite the sometimes abstruse nature of the subject matter, keeps the reader's interest. -- Sue Haffner Western Association of Map Libraries (WAML) Information Bulletin A handsomely made book, packed with numerous well-reproduced medieval and early modern maps of the world and the North Atlantic. -- John A. Agnew International History Review 2003 One must look back almost a century to Fridtjof Nansen's In Northern Mists (1911) to find a study that probes as deeply into the question of whether representations of pre-Columbian America appeared in European-made maps... The author has provided an invaluable service to historians of discovery, geography, science, cartography, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance in bringing all of this information together. -- Gregory C. McIntosh Imago Mundi 2004 Of interest to anyone with a love for maps and history. Northeastern Naturalist 2004Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Directory to the Chronological Survey Preface and Acknowledgments Front Map Chapter 1. Introduction Part I: Outstanding MisunderstandingsChapter 2. Claudius ClavusChapter 3. The Inventio Fortunatae and Martin Behaim Chapter 4. The Yale Vinland Map Part II: The Chronological SurveyChapter 5. Introduction to the Chronological Survey A. Classical Norse GreenlandChapter 6. Early Scandinavian Geography Chapter 7. Communication Links with Greenland Chapter 8. The Unseen BridgeB. Uncovering an AmericaChapter 9. Late Greenland-Based Exploration Chapter 10. Foundations of European Misunderstandings Chapter 11. News Penetrates the EstablishmentChapter 12. Europe's Westward Awakening Chapter 13. Mastery of the Atlantic C. Old Images in New MapsChapter 14. A New Continent Emerges Chapter 15. An Old Continent Emerges Chapter 16. The Misunderstandings Are Resolved Chapter 17. Conclusion Appendix: The Vinland Map's Ink Notes Selected Bibliography Facsimile Atlases and Reproductions Index

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Book SynopsisPerhaps no topic is more heated, and the sources more tendentious, than that of Civil War prisons and the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs). This book investigates variations between camps and overall prison policy and determines what actually happened in the admittedly over-crowded, under-supplied, and poorly administered camps.

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Book SynopsisExamines the life stories and perspectives about freedom of four figures depicted in an infamous Reconstruction-era political cartoon. G. Ward Hubbs uses a stark and iconic political cartoon to illuminate post-war conflicts over the meaning of freedom in the American South.

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Book SynopsisAn objective account of The Spanish Peninsular War, translated into English for the first time. The story of the 'British Gracchi', three brothers who with their attitude and effort maintained this fragile alliance between both countries until the final victory over the French.

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Book SynopsisJoachim Murat, son of an innkeeper, had won his spurs as Napoleon's finest cavalry general and then won his throne when, in 1808, Napoleon appointed him king of Naples. He loyally ran this strategic Italian kingdom with his wife, Napoleon's sister Caroline, until, in 1814, with Napoleon beaten and in retreat towards ruin and exile, the royal couple chose to betray their imperial relation and dramatically switched sides.This notorious betrayal won them temporary respite, but just a year later Murat engineered his own dramatic fall. A series of blunders took the cavalier king from thinking he had secured his dynasty to fleeing his kingdom. His native France did not welcome him, initially because Napoleon had not forgiven him, then, after Napoleon's fall following Waterloo, because the restored Bourbons were offering a reward for Murat's head. Fleeing again, fate brought him to Corsica where, welcomed at last, Murat turned to plotting the reversal in his fortunes he so felt he deserved.Mu

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Book SynopsisGraphic account of the two major battles fought at Copenhagen during the Napoleonic Wars. Confirms Gareth Glovers reputation for pioneering work on the less-well-known aspects of the Napoleonic Wars.

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Book SynopsisThis is the third volume in Paul Dawson's ground-breaking Waterloo trilogy, following Marshal Ney at Quatre Bras, and Napoleon and Grouchy, Waterloo, the Truth at Last concludes this sensational story.

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Book SynopsisFull biography of one of the Duke of Wellington's most able brigade commanders.

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Book SynopsisWaterloo 1815 is a captivating study of the battle of Waterloo, one of the defining campaigns in European history. In particular it focuses on the desperate struggle for Ligny, which saw the Prussians pushed back after heavy fighting by the French Army in what was to be Napoleon''s last battlefield victory. With Wellington unable to assist his Prussian allies in time, the Prussian centre was overwhelmed as night began to fall, although the flanks were able to retreat in some semblance of order. Stunning illustrations augment the drama of the fighting in this area while considerable new research drawn from unpublished first-hand accounts provide a detailed and engaging resource for all aspects of the battle.Table of ContentsIntroduction / Chronology / Opposing commanders / Opposing forces / Orders of battle / Opposing plans / The campaign opens / Aftermath / The battlefield today / Further reading / Index

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Book SynopsisIn an age when infantry units maneuvered and fought in rigid blocks, the idea of encouraging initiative and allowing a unit to skirmish was regarded as revolutionary and fell out of favor in the years following the French-Indian and American Revolutionary wars. It was revived by far-sighted British and foreign-mercenary officers, who observed the way in which French Revolutionary armies deployed skirmishers to prepare the way for their assault columns.Offering a detailed analysis of tactics, this book is studded with period battle descriptions quoted from eye-witness accounts, creating a comprehensive guide to the Light and Rifles units of Wellington''s Light Division. As the result of the first tentative experiments in skirmishing the units achieved an unsurpassed peak of efficiency--they marched faster, were versatile in any sort of tactical situation, and could shoot more accurately than either friend or foe. No other national army, either allied or enemy, achieved these Table of ContentsIntroduction – development of Light Infantry tactics in the 18th century American wars – neglect after 1783 /The challenge – development of tirailleur tactics by the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic armies /Creation of the Rifle units (Experimental Corps of Riflemen; 60th Royal Americans; 95th Rifle Brigade) – creation of the Light Infantry companies within Line battalions – creation of Light Infantry regiments: 43rd, 51st, 52nd, 68th, 71st, 85th & 90th /Doctrine and training: de Rottenberg, Manningham, and Sir John Moore – the Shorncliffe method /Integration of Rifles into infantry formations /Campaign history, from Toulon (1793) to Waterloo (1815), with quoted examples: the Light Division in the Peninsula – evolution of tactics through battlefield experience

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Book SynopsisA fresh account of the armed struggles for control of England, Scotland and Wales in the mid-twelfth century

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Book SynopsisDiscover the untold story of the vital role the Irish played in the American Revolution.George Washington changed the world and saved democracy by defeating the British during the American War of Independence. The Irish role in the American Revolution, the war for the ages, has never been correctly reported. Because many of the Irish who fought were poor and illiterate and left no memoirs, their stories and role have never been told. Until now. The Irish played a huge role in the American Revolution, not just on the battlefield but also in the field hospitals and in the framing of the Declaration of Independence. Learn the story of the famous spy Hercules Mulligan, who saved George Washington’s life on two occasions and who was famously portrayed by Okieriete Onaodowan in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash hit Hamilton. Discover the story of Edward Hoban, a carpenter from Ireland who Washington tasked with building the most famous residence in the world: the White House.Niall O’Dowd, author of Lincoln and the Irish and A New Ireland, takes readers on a journey into the unexplored contributions of the Irish in the American Revolution and behind the scenes of the relationships of some of those men and women with the first president of the United States. These unsung heroes of the American Revolution have never gotten their due, never had their story told, until now, in George Washington and the Irish.

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Book SynopsisOn 3 September 1650 Oliver Cromwell won a decisive victory over the Scottish Covenanters at the Battle of Dunbar - a victory that is often regarded as his finest hour - but the aftermath, the forced march of 5,000 prisoners from the battlefield to Durham, was one of the cruellest episodes in his career. The march took them seven days, without food and with little water, no medical care, the property of a ruthless regime determined to eradicate any possibility of further threat. Those who survived long enough to reach Durham found no refuge, only pestilence and despair. Exhausted, starving and dreadfully weakened, perhaps as many as 1,700 died from typhus and dysentery. Those who survived were condemned to hard labour and enforced exile in conditions of virtual slavery in a harsh new world across the Atlantic. Cromwell's Convicts describes their ordeal in detail and, by using archaeological evidence, brings the story right up to date. John Sadler and Rosie Serdiville describe the battle at Dunbar, but their main focus is on the lethal week-long march of the captives that followed. They make extensive use of archive material, retrace the route taken by the prisoners and describe the recent archaeological excavations in Durham which have identified some of the victims and given us a graphic reminder of their fate.

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Book SynopsisA deadly and expensive war within a war was waged behind the lines (and often out of the major headlines) in western Kentucky. In 1862, the region was infested with guerrilla activity that pitted brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor in a personal war that often recognized few boundaries. The riding and fighting took hundreds of lives, destroyed or captured millions of dollars of equipment, and siphoned away thousands of men from the Union war effort. Derrick Lindow tells this little-known story for the first time in We Shall Conquer or Die: Partisan Warfare in 1862 Western Kentucky.Confederate Colonel Adam Rankin Johnson and his 10th Kentucky Partisan Rangers regiment wreaked havoc on Union supply lines and garrisons from the shores of southern Indiana, in the communities of western Kentucky, and even south into Tennessee. His rangers seemed unbeatable and uncatchable that second year of the war, especially because of the Partisan Ranger method of temporarily disbanding and melting into the countryside, a tactic relatively easy to execute in a region populated with Southern sympathizers.In the span of just a few months Johnson and his men captured six Union-controlled towns, hundreds of prisoners, and tons of Union army equipment. Union civil and military authorities, meanwhile, were not idle bystanders. Strategies changed, troops rushed to guerrilla flashpoints, daring leaders refused the Confederate demands of surrender, and every available type of fighting man was utilized from Regulars to the militia of the Indiana Legion, temporary service day regiments, and even brown water naval vessels. Clearing the area of partisans and installing a modicum of Union control became one of the Northern war machine’s major objectives.This deadly and expensive war behind the lines was fought by men who often found themselves thrust into unpredictable situations. Participants included future presidential cabinet members, Mexican War veterans, Jewish immigrants, some of the U.S. Army’s rising young officers, and of course the civilians unfortunate enough to live in the borderlands of Kentucky.Author Lindow spent years researching through primary source material to write this important study. The partisan guerrilla fighting and efforts to bring it under control helps put the Civil War in the Western Theater in context, and is a story long overdue.

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Book SynopsisThis work takes us beneath the veneer of the famous “Green Mountain Boys” to reveal the true story of how a hardened, quasi-commando army happened to be present in America’s northern colonies at the start of the Revolution.Under their first dynamic commander, Ethan Allen, the Green Mountain Boys indeed formed and fought against a larger, oppressive power—this was the Colony of New York, which repeatedly tried to make claim to Vermont land. Meantime Vermont itself was termed the “Hampshire Grants,” and was considered to be a part of that similarly nebulous New England territory.The Vermonters would have little of it, however, even as British Canada also extended its covetous eye, and under Ethan Allen formed their own militia to combat encroachers from either side. Allen was not an innocent in the mix, and had his own agenda, including financial or landowning ones. But the spirit he and his men showed in defense of their isolated mountains has come to epitomize America’s own spirit of independence against any untoward or unwanted regime.When the Revolution against Britain arrived, the Green Mountain Boys were one of the few organized, experienced combat units Washington could call on from the northeast. And they were immediately put to good use, seizing the British fortress at Ticonderoga and afterward helping to invade Canada. But in mid-1777 was declared the “Republic of Vermont,” sending a signal to all comers that those rustic fighters didn’t wish to be governed by anyone except themselves.Nevertheless, at the Battle of Hubbardton, and then Bennington, the Green Mountain Boys performed good service on behalf of the United Colonies. Eventually the Vermonters would be persuaded to join the new nation itself, even if, as this fascinating book proves, they never considered that path such an easy one.

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Book SynopsisFrancis Marion is certainly the stuff of which legends are made. His nickname “The Swamp Fox,” bestowed upon him by one of his fiercest enemies, captures his wily approach to battle. The embellishment of his exploits in Parson Weems’ early biography make separation of fact from fiction difficult, but certainly represents the awe, loyalty, and attraction he produced in those around him. His legacy is enshrined in the fact that more places in the United States have been named after him than any other soldier of the American Revolution, with the sole exception of George Washington. Even today’s U.S. Army Rangers include Marion as one of their formative heroes. Surely much about leadership can be learned from such an intriguing personality.Leading like the Swamp Fox: The Leadership Lessons of Francis Marion unlocks those lessons. Divided into three parts, the book first presents the historical background and context necessary to appreciate Marion’s situation. The main body of the book then examines Marion’s leadership across eight categories, with a number of vignettes demonstrating Marion’s competency. The summary then captures some conclusions about how leadership impacted the American Revolution in the South CarolinaLowcountry. An appendix provides some information about how the reader might explore those physical reminders of Marion and his exploits that exist today. Readers interested in history or leadership, or both, will all find something for them in Leading like the Swamp Fox.Trade Review[U]seful to students of leadership, or as an introduction to the Southern Campaign and to Marion… . [A] good treatise on leadership, and its overview of the Southern Campaign is an ideal introduction to the topic. * Journal of Military History 11/01/2023 *Table of ContentsForeword Introduction Part One: Understanding Francis Marion’s Revolutionary War Part Two: Leadership Lessons and Vignettes Francis Marion and a Leader’s Frame of Reference Francis Marion and the Responsibility of Leadership Francis Marion and the Interpersonal Component of Leadership Francis Marion and Communicating as a Leader Francis Marion and a Leader’s Need to Solve Problems Part Three: Summary Conclusions about Leadership During the Lowcountry Campaign Some Reminders of the Lowcountry Campaign Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe death of Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey has baffled scholars and armchair detectives for centuries; this book offers compelling new evidence and, at last, a solution to the mystery. On a cold October afternoon in 1678, the Westminster justice of the peace Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey left his home in Charing Cross and never returned. Within hours of his disappearance, London was abuzz with rumours that the magistrate had been murdered by Catholics in retaliation for his investigation into a supposed 'Popish Plot' against the government. Five days later, speculation morphed into a moral panic after Godfrey's body was discovered in a ditch, impaled on his own sword in an apparent clumsily staged suicide. This book presents an anatomy of a conspiratorial crisis that shook the foundations of late Stuart England, eroding public faith in authority and official sources of information. Speculation about Godfrey's death dovetailed with suspicions about secret diplomacy at the court of Charles II, contributing to the emergence of a partisan press and an oppositional political culture in which the most fantastical claims were not only believable but plausible. Ultimately, conspiracy theories implicating the king's principal minister, his queen and his brother in Godfrey's murder stoked the passions and divisions that would culminate in the Exclusion Crisis, the most serious challenge to the British monarchy since the Civil War.Table of ContentsIntroduction. The Bottomless Pit: Conspiracy Theories & the Death of a Westminster JP Historical, political and conspiratorial perspectives Chapter summary 1. The Usual Suspects: the Case against the Catholics The English anti-Catholic conspiracist tradition Rumours, hearsay and the corpus delicti Accusers and accused 2. An Inside Job? The Earl of Danby and other Court Suspects A constitutional and conspiratorial crisis Thomas Osborne, earl of Danby An Anglican Plot? Israel Tonge's 'very honourable friends' Plots and counterplots: Danby in the Tower 3. 'The Devil in his Clothes': Suicide Theories, Then and Now Early suicide theories Roger L'Estrange's crime scene investigation 'Master of a dangerous secret ': Godfrey's mental state Spectral sightings: tracking Godfrey's last movements Ockham's razor? 4. 'Managery... behind the Curtain'? Oppositional Plots and Whig Lords True crime, false leads and tall tales Shaftesbury and subornation Whig suspects and oppositional secrets 5. 'Horrible Secrets...not for his Majesty's Service': William Lloyd's Shorthand The correspondence of Roger L'Estrange and William Lloyd Royal suspects and secrets 'Died Abner as a fool dieth '? What William Lloyd believed Conclusion. A Bipartisan Martyr? In Search of the Real Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey 'Keeping faire with boeth sides': Godfrey as critic, courtier, mediator and sleuth A plausible suspect: the secrets of 'a certain great man' A possible murder scenario Select Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis is the first book-length treatment of the ‘turncoat’ John Poyer, the man who initiated the Second Civil War through his rebellion in south Wales in 1648. The volume charts Poyer’s rise from a humble glover in Pembroke to become parliament’s most significant supporter in Wales during the First Civil War (1642–6), and argues that he was a more complex and significant individual than most commentators have realised. Poyer’s involvement in the poisonous factional politics of the post-war period (1646–8) is examined, and newly discovered material demonstrates how his career offers fresh insights into the relationship between national and local politics in the 1640s, the use of print and publicity by provincial interest groups, and the importance of local factionalism in understanding the course of the civil war in south Wales. The volume also offers a substantial analysis of Poyer’s posthumous reputation after his execution by firing squad in April 1649.Trade Review‘This is a brilliant book, which not only transforms our view of the ‘turncoat’ John Poyer but also provides one of the most vivid, well-informed and sophisticated accounts ever written of the seventeenth-century civil wars in Wales.” -- Mark Stoyle, University of Southampton“This exhilarating read challenges previous representations of Poyer and offers a first glimpse of the man on his own terms rather than through the eyes of his enemies. In doing so, the author illuminates the factional politics within the parliamentary cause in superb depth and with great sensitivity to the local context.” -- Andrew Hopper, University of LeicesterTable of ContentsMaps Abbreviations Acknowledgements Preface Chapter 1: The Setting: John Poyer and Early Stuart Pembrokeshire, c.1606–1640 Chapter 2: The Irish Crisis and the Coming of Civil War, 1640–42 Chapter 3: Allies and Enemies: Poyer and Pembroke during the First Civil War Chapter 4: The Struggle for Supremacy: Poyer and Post-War Politics, 1646–47 Chapter 5: The Road to Rebellion, August 1647–March 1648 Chapter 6: Poyer, Powell and the Prince, March–April 1648 Chapter 7: The Siege of Pembroke, May–July 1648 Chapter 8: Revenge and Revolution: Poyer, Print and Parliamentary Justice, August 1648–April 1649 Chapter 9: Afterlives Appendix: Timeline of the Civil Wars in Pembrokeshire

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