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The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (Vintage Civil War Library) Kindle Edition

by Shelby Foote (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.8 1,136 ratings

Book 2 of 3: Vintage Civil War Library

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Focused on the pivotal year of 1863, the second volume of Shelby Foote’s masterful narrative history brings to life the Battle of Gettysburg and Grant’s Vicksburg campaign and covers some of the most dramatic and important moments in the Civil War.

Includes maps throughout.

"This, then, is narrative history—a kind of history that goes back to an older literary tradition.... The writing is superb...one of the historical and literary achievements of our time." —The Washington Post Book World

" Mr. Foote has an acute sense of the relative importance of events and a novelist's skill in directing the reader's attention to the men and the episodes that will influence the course of the whole war, without omitting items which are of momentary interest. His organization of facts could hardly be better." —Atlantic

"Though the events of this middle year of the Civil War have been recounted hundreds of times, they have rarely been re-created with such vigor and such picturesque detail." —The New York Times Book Review

"The lucidity of the battle narratives, the vigor of the prose, the strong feeling for the men from generals to privates who did the fighting, are all controlled by constant sense of how it happened and what it was all about. Foote has the novelist's feeling for character and situation, without losing the historian's scrupulous regard for recorded fact. The Civil War is likely to stand unequaled." —Walter Mills

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This, then, is narrative history—a kind of history that goes back to an older literary tradition.... The writing is superb...one of the historical and literary achievements of our time." —The Washington Post Book World

" Mr. Foote has an acute sense of the relative importance of events and a novelist's skill in directing the reader's attention to the men and the episodes that will influence the course of the whole war, without omitting items which are of momentary interest. His organization of facts could hardly be better." —Atlantic

"Though the events of this middle year of the Civil War have been recounted hundreds of times, they have rarely been re-created with such vigor and such picturesque detail." —The New York Times Book Review

"The lucidity of the battle narratives, the vigor of the prose, the strong feeling for the men from generals to privates who did the fighting, are all controlled by constant sense of how it happened and what it was all about. Foote has the novelist's feeling for character and situation, without losing the historian's scrupulous regard for recorded fact. The Civil War is likely to stand unequaled." —Walter Mills

From the Inside Flap

The first volume of Shelby Foote's tremendous narrative of the Civil War was greeted enthusiastically by critics and readers alike (see back of jacket for comments). In this dramatic second volume the scope and power, the lively portrayal of exciting personalities, and the memorable re-creation of events have continued unmistakably. In addition, "Fredericksburg to Meridian" covers many of the greatest and bloodiest battles of history.

The authoritative narrative is dominated by the almost continual confrontation of great armies. For the fourth time, the Army of the Potomac (now under the command of Burnside) attempts to take Richmond, resulting in the blood-bath at Fredericksburg: Then Joe Hooker tries again, only to be repulsed at Chancellorsville as Stonewall Jackson turns his flank -- a bitter victory for the South, paid for by the death' of Lee's foremost lieutenant.

In the West, during the six-month standoff that followed the shock of Murfreesboro in the central theater, one of the most complex and determined sieges of the war has begun. Here Grant's seven relentless efforts against Vicksburg show Lincol that he has at last found his killer-genera the man who can "face the arithmetic."

With Vicksburg finally under siege, Lee again invades the North. The three-day conflict at Gettysburg receives book-length attention in a masterly treatment of a key great battle, not as legend has it but as it really was, before it became distorted by controversy and overblown by remembered glory.

Then begins the downhill fight -- the sudden glare of Chickamauga and the North's great day at Missionary Ridge, followed by the Florida fiasco and Sherman's meticulous destruction of Meridian, which left that section of the South facing the aftermath even before the war was over.

Against this backdrop of smoke and battle, Lincoln and Davis try in their separate ways to hold their people together: Lincoln by letters and statements climaxing in the Gettysburg Address; and Davis by two long roundabout western trips in which he makes personal appeals to crowds along his way.

"Fredericksburg to Meridian" is full of the life of the times -- the elections of 1863, the resignations of Seward and Chase, the Conscription riots, the mounting opposition (on both sides) to the crushing war, and then the inescapable resolution that it must go on.

And as before, the whole sweeping story is told entirely through the lives and actions of the people involved, a matchless narrative which could be sustained so brilliantly only by one of our finest novelists.

From the Back Cover

"A stunning book, full of color, life, character and a new atmosphere of the Civil War, and at the same time a narrative of unflagging power. Eloquent proof that a historian should be a writer above all else. I predict that Foote's three volumes will be a turning point in the writing of Civil War history."

-- Burke Davis

"This first of a three-volume history of the Civil War is so good that the reader is apt to mistrust his instant and overpowering enthusiasm. If the subsequent works in the series are its equal, novelist Shelby Foote will have written one of the finest histories ever fashioned by an American."

-- Wirt Williams, Los Angeles Times

"The quality is high; the tone, cool and objective, yet lighted with excitements.... Foote's narrative style is first-rate, vivid, and refreshing. When the trilogy is completed it will most likely stand as the most thorough history of the-Civil War yet done."

-- Hudson Strode

"Here, for a certainty, is one of the great historical narratives of our century, a unique and brilliant achievement, one that must be firmly placed in the ranks of the masters ... a stirring and stupendous synthesis of history."

-- Van Allen Bradley, Chicago Daily News

"A great, hulking book ... great in quality as well as in size. Not only does the author achieve a wonderful breadth of coverage, he also recounts the events of the war with an impressive depth of understanding. His book is a major achievement in the literature of the Civil War: good research superbly written."

-- Richard B. Harwell, Chicago Sun Tribune

About the Author

Although he now makes his home in Memphis, Tennessee, Shelby Foote comes from a long line of Mississippians. He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and attended school there until he entered the University of North Carolina. During World War II he served in the European theater as a captain of field artillery. In the period since the war, he has written five novels: Tournament, Follow Me Down, Love in a Dry Season, Shiloh and Jordan County. He has been awarded three Guggenheim fellowships.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B004C43G6A
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage (January 26, 2011)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 26, 2011
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 7938 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 1014 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #154,953 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #3 in U.S. Civil War Naval Operations History
- #3 in Civil War Fredericksburg History
- #9 in Biographies of the American Civil War

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4.8 1,136 ratings

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Mike Powers

"The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2-Fredericksburg to Meridian:” a beautifully written, outstanding work of Civil War history.

Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2016

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I recently finished reading the second volume of Shelby Foote’s masterful Civil War trilogy. “The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2- Fredericksburg to Meridian” covers the pivotal year 1863. This year marks the war’s great turning point, when Union forces finally begin winning more often than they lose on all fronts. “Fredericksburg to Meridian” describes some of the key engagements of 1863, including Fredericksburg (actually fought in late 1862), Stone’s River, Chancellorsville, Champion Hill, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga.

In 1863, momentum on the battlefield slowly begins to shift in the Union’s favor. Although the year begins with overwhelming Confederate victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville in the east, Union forces are more successful in the west. Beyond the Appalachians, Union Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman win a string of significant victories over their Confederate foes.

On July 1-3, 1863, the Union’s Army of the Potomac, now commanded by General George Meade, defeats Lee’s Confederate forces at the battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. The Union victory at Gettysburg is the first half of a "one-two punch" that ultimately decides the war's outcome. The other “punch” comes at Vicksburg, Mississippi during that same week in July 1863. After being besieged by Grant’s forces for a month and a half, Vicksburg surrenders. As a result, the Mississippi River one again “runs unvexed to the sea..."

“Fredericksburg to Meridian” recounts many other large and small battles of 1863, including engagements at Galveston, Texas; Port Hudson, Louisiana; Brandy Station, Virginia; Jackson, Mississippi; and Meridian, Mississippi. By the close of this volume, the ultimate outcome of the war is still very much in doubt.

I have now read all three volumes of “The Civil War: A Narrative” several times. Shelby Foote is a master at weaving the personalities and events of the Civil War into a seamless and captivating narrative. One of Foote’s great strengths as a writer is his ability to hold his readers’ interest with his sparkling, almost musical prose.

Shelby Foote has been criticized for factual errors, slipshod research, and incorporating a "Southern bias" into his writing. I have never found any validity in any of these criticisms. I think Foote’s account of the Civil War is always fair, objective, detailed, and historically accurate.

“Fredericksburg to Meridian” does have a significant flaw, however. Although obviously based on solid historical research, it doesn’t adhere to established standards of source citation. In other words, there are no foot- or end notes, and very few bibliographical references. Foote should have included some form of footnote or end note citations, and a more comprehensive bibliography. All three volumes would also have benefited immensely from better maps and the inclusion of illustrations.

Despite this imperfection, “The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2-Fredericksburg to Meridian” remains a beautifully written, outstanding work of history. Highly recommended.

6 people found this helpful

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William Ross

Great series extremely informative. If you want to know more about the civil war, read this narrative.

Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2016

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This 3 book series is much more than a narrative of the civil war. It also explains the thinking and tactics of the generals and the political situation in the country that drove these decisions. Lincoln, Sec. of War Stanton and General-in-Chief H. W. Halleck were all former lawyers before the war and ran the war from a political perspective. Only Halleck had any military background, but he was often overruled by Stanton and President Lincoln, who had none. The series reads like a novel and more than meets my expectations for giving me a much better understanding of what the civil war was all about. I graduated high school back in 1963, when the public school system still taught american history and civics so I thought that I knew a little bit about the subject. As it turns out what little I knew was mostly wrong and completely wrong as to the what were the root causes of the civil war. Shelby Foote did an excellent job of telling the story of the Civil War era.

5 people found this helpful

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James P.

real good read and cheap used

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2023

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can't put it down. I see that Shelby went through different stages of writing style, about 100 pages in you notice it gest more interesting and flamboyant. I've been a Civil War enthusiast for 35 yearns and learning things from this book.

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Rafe

God I love Shelby Foote

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2016

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The Civil War Trilogy is not a project or light read, it's a commitment. The second volume is 967 pages, about 100 more than volume one. The first two have been exhaustively researched and detailed, and Mr. Foote's ability to tell a story is wonderful. This is not just a compendium of facts and troop movements, it's a real, living breathing account of the men who fought this war. From the men on the line to the generals to the presidents, you are there, you feel what they feel. The personalities are drawn with a vivid brush, you know what it's like to try to hold the factions of a country together (both sides had riots), the politics and rivalries between the generals, and what the civilians experienced.

This book is so real, so accurate, that Gettysburg, a battle that took three days, takes three days to read. I've read books on that battle that weren't this good.

I did have to take break between tomes, but I think I'm ready for volume three. The thing is, when I'm reading these books, that's what I want to do. I mean, the dishes really pile up, y'know?

34 people found this helpful

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margot

Faulkneresque, a little too noticeably

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2013

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Generally speaking, this is the best of the three volumes of my all-time favorite book. Hell, I like anything with Vicksburg. But I just noticed something...

It wasn't till I tried to read Volume 2 on Kindle that I saw the Faulkner influence on Shelby. Somehow this never came through on Audible ("Blackstone Audio presents: The Civil War, a Narrative, by Shelby Foote. Volume 28, Chickamauga to Chillicothe. Chapter 17...") or in the big paperbound or cloth editions.

Foote never uses three sentences when one long one, often with a long intermediate clause offering a fascinating parenthetical backstory about the character or event under discussion, can be strung together. This is stately and Ciceronian in book form, but the wide Kindle aspect, with as many as thirty words marching across each line, makes it all difficult to read.

I went back to the Audible version and it flows very smoothly. The intermediate clauses sound conversational. Foote wrote for the spoken voice and pre-Kindle reader.

Proceed at your peril. Otherwise, five stars for all of this three-volume narrative.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Fantastic

Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2022

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Just a thrill to read. Best historical account. I could read 30 of these books of it were possible. Amazing

3 people found this helpful

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History

Reviewed in Canada on May 1, 2023

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well written and very knowledgeable

Simone Degl'Innocenti

A masterpiece

Reviewed in Italy on January 9, 2022

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One of the best history and military strategy books I have read and, honestly, I read a lot.

The books are so well written (they are 3) that you follow the events forgetting that you know yet the end.

A masterpiece!

Grant Sansom-Sherwill

The essential history of the Civil War and one of the greatest non-fiction books ever written

Reviewed in Australia on October 9, 2023

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(Review is of all three volumes).

A staggeringly brilliant book. Incredibly comprehensive at approximately 3,000 pages and clearly well-researched. Author Shelby Foote clearly spared no effort in obtaining details on the events of the American Civil War. Some of the minutiae is incredibly interesting and some of the sources as rare as soldier’s letters home.

Shelby Foote then binds all these events and facts together in an incredibly engaging narrative that reads like a character-driven novel rather than historical non-fiction. Makes for engrossing reading.

All this detail makes it the go-to reference book on the Civil War.

On that note, where the book does suffer a bit is that there is sometimes TOO MUCH detail. No problem with the military stuff but in addition to detailing all the battles and military manoeuvring Foote also details the political aspects of the war. This is fine, as far as the external, broader-based politics goes – after all the war was about political and philosophical ideology.

However, he also spends a large amount of time on internal politics, generally machinations within the US or Confederate government that are about personal power rather than any greater good, and this is where the book tends to get bogged down. Maybe Foote unearthed all this material and felt like anything he found needed to be put on the record and published rather than potentially lost forever. Maybe it’s just me, enjoying the military aspect far more than the political one.

Overall, a masterpiece.

M. M. Bennett

The Civil War - how to understand it.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 26, 2014

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This is an easy choice: Shelby Foote writes a narrative, not a dry history - this is a thick volume and is actually physically heavy to read. But, the style continues from the first volume & is of a similar high quality. He tells the story from both sides of the conflict - analyzing as he proceeds - if you want to read about the American Civil War and understand it - read this. You will need more: to read about Lincoln for example, but the progress of this first modern war is encapsulated in this three volume epic.

One person found this helpful

José López Jara

Another worthy read

Reviewed in Spain on October 12, 2014

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Ya había leído el primer volumen de esta serie y he de decir que la continuación no desmerece en absoluto. Un libro que no defraudará a los interesados en este periodo histórico.

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The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian (Vintage Civil War Library) Kindle Edition

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