Search results for ""Author Peter Cozzens""

Indispensable must-reads for all Civil War buffs and historians, bringing together little-known and never before gathered first-hand accounts, articles, maps, and illustrations The first four volumes of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, published in the late nineteenth century, became the best-selling and most frequently cited works ever published on the Civil War. Volume 5, assembled by the acclaimed military historian Peter Cozzens, carries on the tradition of its namesake, offering a dazzling new collection of fresh material written by military and civilian leaders, North and South, on a broad array of war-related topics. Featured articles include General Grant on the second battle of Bull Run, General Beauregard on the Shiloh campaign, General Sherman on the conference at City Point, Joshua Chamberlain on the Fredericksburg campaign, and many more. Also presented are dozens of maps and more than one hundred illustrations.

Read more less

''Cozzens is a master storyteller'' The Times''Extremely well researched'' Times Literary SupplementFrom the devastating invasion by Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century to the relentless pressure from white settlers 150 years later, A Brutal Reckoning tells the story of encroachment on the vast Native American territory in the Deep South, which gave rise to the Creek War, the bloodiest in American Indian history, and propelled Andrew Jackson into national prominence, as he led the US Army in a ruthless campaign.It was a war that involved not only white Americans and Native Americans but also the British and the Spanish, and ultimately led to the Trail of Tears, in which the government forcibly removed the entire Creek people, as well as the neighbouring Chickasaw, Choctaw and Cherokee nations, from their homelands, leaving the way open for the conquest of the West. No other single Indian conflict had such a signif

Read more less

When North and South met among the desolate mountains of northwestern Georgia in 1863, they began one of the bloodiest and most decisive campaigns of the Civil War. The climactic Battle of Chickamauga lasted just two days, yet it was nearly as costly as Gettysburg, with casualties among the highest in the war. In this study of the campaign, the first to appear in over thirty years and the most comprehensive account ever written on Chickamauga, Peter Cozzens presents a vivid narrative about an engagement that was crucial to the outcome of the war in the West. Drawing upon a wealth of previously untapped sources, Cozzens offers startling new interpretations that challenge the conventional wisdom on key moments of the battle, such as Rosecrans's fateful order to General Wood and Thomas's historic defense of Horseshoe Ridge. Chickamauga was a battle of missed opportunities, stupendous tactical blunders, and savage fighting by the men in ranks. Cozzens writes movingly of both the heroism and suffering of the common soldiers and of the strengths and tragic flaws of their commanders. Enhanced by the detailed battle maps and original sketches by the noted artist Keith Rocco, this book will appeal to all Civil War enthusiasts and students of military history.

Read more less

'Cozzens is a master storyteller' The Times'Extremely well researched' Times Literary SupplementFrom the devastating invasion by Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century to the relentless pressure from white settlers 150 years later, A Brutal Reckoning tells the story of encroachment on the vast Native American territory in the Deep South, which gave rise to the Creek War, the bloodiest in American Indian history, and propelled Andrew Jackson into national prominence, as he led the US Army in a ruthless campaign.It was a war that involved not only white Americans and Native Americans but also the British and the Spanish, and ultimately led to the Trail of Tears, in which the government forcibly removed the entire Creek people, as well as the neighbouring Chickasaw, Choctaw and Cherokee nations, from their homelands, leaving the way open for the conquest of the West. No other single Indian conflict had such a significant impact on the fate of the country.Wonderfully told and brilliantly detailed, A Brutal Reckoning is a sweeping history of a crucial period in the destruction of America's native tribes.

Read more less

A History Book of the Year in The Times 'Cozzens is a master storyteller; his books weave a wealth of intricate detail into gripping historical narrative.' The Times'Marvellous... One of the best pieces of Native American history I have read.' S.C. Gwynne, bestselling author of Empire of the Summer MoonWinner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Biography.Shawnee chief Tecumseh was a man destined for greatness - the son of a prominent war leader, he was supposedly born under a lucky shooting star. Charismatic, intelligent, handsome, he was both a fierce warrior and a savvy politician. In the first biography of Tecumseh in more than twenty years, Peter Cozzens thoroughly revises our understanding of this great leader and his movement, arguing that his overlooked younger brother Tenskwatawa, the 'Shawnee Prophet', was a crucial partner in Tecumseh's success.Until Tecumseh's death in 1813, he was, alongside Tenskwatawa, the co-architect of the greatest pan-Indian confederation in history. Over time, Tenskwatawa has been relegated to the shadows, described as a talentless charlatan and a drunk. But Cozzens argues that while Tecumseh was the forward-facing diplomat, appealing even to the white settlers attempting to steal Shawnee land, behind the scenes, Tenskwatawa unified multiple tribes with his deep understanding of Shawnee religion and culture. No other Native American leaders enjoyed such popularity, and none would ever pose a graver threat to colonial expansion than Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa. Bringing to life an often-overlooked episode in America's past, Cozzens paints in vivid detail the violent, lawless world of the Old Northwest, when settlers spilled over the Appalachians to bloody effect in their haste to exploit lands won from the War of Independence. The Warrior and the Prophet tells the untold story of the Shawnee brothers who retaliated against this threat - becoming allies with the British army in the process - and reveals how they were the last hope for Native Americans to preserve ways of life they had known for centuries.

Read more less

Ambitious and outspoken, John Pope was one of the most controversial figures to hold high command during the Civil War, Reconstruction, and in the American West. General John Pope: A Life for the Nation is the first full biography of this much maligned figure who played crucial roles in both the Eastern and the Western Theaters of the Civil War. Renowned Civil War scholar Peter Cozzens has mined Pope's own memoirs and a wealth of other primary sources to provide a complete picture of this gifted strategist. Uncovering new information about Pope's pre- and postwar career and his path to power, Cozzens delineates the political environment that surrounded Pope and provided the context for his actions. Cozzens examines Pope's early career first as commander of the Army of the Mississippi and then as leader of a hastily formed Army of Virginia against Robert E. Lee. After his famous defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Pope was sent to the frontier. There he held important commands on the western plains over the next twenty-four years, all the while struggling to clear his reputation of the events at Second Bull Run. A principal architect of the Red River War, which broke the resistance of the Southern Plains Indians, Pope espoused humanitarian treatment of subjugated tribes and was recognized as one of the army's leading authorities on Indian affairs. In place of the simplistic caricature that has satisfied most historians, Cozzens has crafted an accurate, humane, balanced portrait of a complex man involved with the most complex issues of his day. A monumental work on a long-neglected figure, General John Pope offers a fresh look at a key nineteenth-century military leader as well as the most detailed analysis available of Federal leadership during the Second Bull Run campaign.

Read more less

Sifting carefully through reports from newspapers, magazines, personal memoirs, and letters, Peter Cozzens' Volume 6 brings readers more of the best first-person accounts of marches, encampments, skirmishes, and full-blown battles, as seen by participants on both sides of the conflict. Alongside the experiences of lower-ranking officers and enlisted men are accounts from key personalities including General John Gibbon, General John C. Lee, and seven prominent generals from both sides offering views on "why the Confederacy failed." This volume includes one hundred and twenty illustrations, including sixteen previously uncollected maps of battlefields, troop movements, and fortifications.

Read more less

The Times' Best History Books of 2017Winner of the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military HistoryWinner of the 2017 Caroline Bancroft History PrizeShortlisted for the Military History Magazine Book of the Year AwardNominated for the 2017 PEN Hessell-Tiltman'Extraordinary... Cozzens has stripped the myth from these stories, but he is such a superb writer that what remains is exquisite' The TimesAt the end of the Civil War, the American nation continued its expansion onto tribal lands, setting off a struggle that would last nearly three decades. Peter Cozzens chronicles the conflict from both sides in comprehensive and singularly intimate detail, bringing together a pageant of fascinating characters, including Custer, Sherman and Grant, as well as great native leaders such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and Red Cloud. This is the tale of how the West was won... and lost.

Read more less