Ethan S. Rafuse's Books

McClellan's War

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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“An important book that rescues George B. McClellan’s military reputation.” —Chronicles Bold, brash, and full of ambition, George Brinton McClellan seemed destined for greatness when he assumed command of all the Union armies before he was 35. It was not to be. Ultimately deemed a failure on the battlefield by Abraham Lincoln, he was finally dismissed from command following the bloody battle of Antietam. To better understand this fascinating, however flawed, character, Ethan S. Rafuse considers the broad and complicated political climate of the earlier 19th Century. Rather than blaming McClellan for the Union’s military losses, Rafuse attempts to understand his political thinking as it affected his wartime strategy. As a result, Rafuse sheds light not only on McClellan’s conduct on the battlefields of 1861-62 but also on United States politics and culture in the years leading up to the Civil War. “Any historian seriously interested in the period will come away from the book with useful material and a better understanding of George B. McClellan.” —Journal of Southern History “Exhaustively researched and lucidly written, Rafuse has done an excellent job in giving us a different perspective on ‘Little Mac.’” —Civil War History “Rafuse’s thoughtful study of Little Mac shows just how enthralling this complex and flawed individual continues to be.” —Blue & Gray magazine

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339

Publisher

Indiana University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0253006147

ISBN 13

9780253006141

Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

In this reexamination of the last two years of Lee's storied military career, Ethan S. Rafuse offers a clear, informative, and insightful account of Lee's ultimately unsuccessful struggle to defend the Confederacy against a relentless and determined foe. This book provides a comprehensive, yet concise and entertaining narrative of the battles and campaigns that highlighted this phase of the war and analyzes the battles and Lee's generalship in the context of the steady deterioration of the Confederacy's prospects for victory.

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308

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

0742551261

ISBN 13

9780742551268

A Single Grand Victory

The First Campaign and Battle of Manassas

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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A Single Grand Victory

The First Campaign and Battle of Manassas

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

More than 800 men lost their lives and 2,700 were wounded. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson earned his legendary nickname "Stonewall" here as fellow Confederate General Barnard Bee, later fatally wounded in the battle, shouted, "Yonder stands Jackson like a stone wall!" Both the North and the South believed that a single victory in this first major battle would decide the war before it barely started. Yet the first battle of Manassas, or Bull Run, has not received nearly the same attention as the other major clashes of the Civil War. A Single Grand Victory is a highly readable, concise, comprehensive narrative by Ethan S. Rafuse, professor of history at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Rafuse worked as a park ranger at Bull Run, where he gained great familiarity with the site and the literature on this battle. His new book incorporates insights offered in recent scholarship on Civil War military, political, and cultural history. The author describes the factors that led President Abraham Lincoln to order an offensive against Confederates at Manassas Junction at a time when his most prominent military men advised against it. The war policies of both the Union and Confederate sides are explained. Rafuse offers descriptions and analysis of the individuals involved and the circumstances that influenced the manner in which the campaign was conducted. He covers the critical events and operational and tactical decisions that shaped the campaign's course and outcome. In addition, A Single Grand Victory provides insights into American life in the nineteenth century by examining what motivated men to fight in 1861 and describing what led both North and South to expect the war would be a short one. Southerners had anticipated that one victory like Bull Run would persuade the North to abandon the effort to restore the Union by force. Northerners believed support for the Confederate rebellion was so shallow that one battle would end the war. Civil War buffs will enjoy this

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244

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Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1461617308

ISBN 13

9781461617303

McClellan's War

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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McClellan's War

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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339

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Indiana University Press

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ISBN 10

0253006147

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9780253006141

Manassas

A Battlefield Guide

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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Manassas

A Battlefield Guide

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

This volume is the essential guide to the Manassas battlefields, site of two of the Civil War’s critical campaigns. Ethan S. Rafuse, a distinguished scholar of the Civil War, provides a clearly organized, thorough, and uniquely insightful account of both campaigns, along with expert analysis and precise directions for armchair traveler and battlefield visitor alike. The July 1861 Battle of First Manassas and the August 1862 Battle of Second Manassas unequivocally influenced the course and outcome of the Civil War. The first battle dealt a decisive blow to hopes that the inexperienced armies of the North and the South could bring about a quick military resolution of the secession crisis. The second battle was the climactic engagement of a spectacular campaign that carried the war to the outskirts of Washington DC and marked the coming of age of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Manassas: A Battlefield Guide presents readers with a clear, convenient guide to the sites in northern and central Virginia that shaped the course and outcome of these campaigns. Lucid, concise narratives give readers a better understanding of the events that took place on these battlefields and of the terrain, personalities, and decisions that shaped them.

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Page Count

272

Publisher

U of Nebraska Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0803254261

ISBN 13

9780803254268

Stonewall Jackson

A Biography

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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Stonewall Jackson

A Biography

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

A thorough and effectively executed study, this biography will appeal to anyone interested in Stonewall Jackson and the military history of the Civil War. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was one of the greatest generals of the Civil War and remains an iconic figure of American history. Stonewall Jackson: A Biography offers a complete yet concise account of Jackson's life and career, illuminating the forces and events that shaped both. The study is organized chronologically, beginning with Jackson's hardscrabble upbringing in the mountains of western Virginia. It follows him through the experiences that brought him to 1861, when he won the nickname "Stonewall" on the battlefield of the first great battle of the Civil War, and then traces his military career and role in the Confederate victories of 1861–1863. Throughout, the biography never loses sight of the man himself. Readers will understand both Jackson's impact on military history and the qualities that enabled him to achieve personal satisfaction and fame as one of history's great soldiers.

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271

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 13

9798216149408

U.S. Presidents during Wartime

A History of Leadership

By: Sean N. Kalic,Ethan S. Rafuse

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U.S. Presidents during Wartime

A History of Leadership

By: Sean N. Kalic,Ethan S. Rafuse

From the American Revolution to the War in Afghanistan, the United States has had no shortage of conflicts on both domestic and world stages. All provide insight into the values of the presidents who led the nation through them. U.S. Presidents during Wartime: A History of Leadership takes readers through chronological entries of presidents who participated in key wars throughout U.S. history. An overview essay first considers the social, economic, and political factors that affected presidents during war. Entries beginning with the presidency of George Washington and ending with that of George W. Bush comprehensively cover each war therein, as well as the responses of the relevant presidents. Primary documents in each entry depict the perspectives of the presidents and offer opportunities for comparing and contrasting the presidents' engagements in wartime strategies. Ending each entry are chronologies of the various events and conflicts that marked the president's time in office. Moreover, entries build upon each other to help readers toward a broader understanding of the sum impact of the wars that the presidents led. While the book emphasizes the historical record, it also explores ongoing conflicts through the lens of contemporary U.S. presidents to provide readers with a complete picture of the changing nature of war over time.

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544

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

144086599X

ISBN 13

9781440865992

From the Mountains to the Bay

The War in Virginia, January–May 1862

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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From the Mountains to the Bay

The War in Virginia, January–May 1862

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

From January to July of 1862, the armies and navies of the Union and Confederacy conducted an incredibly complex and remarkably diverse range of operations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under the direction of leaders like Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, George McClellan, Joseph E. Johnston, John Rodgers, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Buchanan, Irvin McDowell, and Louis M. Goldsborough, men of the Union and Confederate armed forces marched over mountains and through shallow valleys, maneuvered on and along great tidal rivers, bridged and waded their tributaries, battled malarial swamps, dug trenches and constructed fortifications, and advanced and retreated in search of operational and tactical advantage. In the course of these operations, the North demonstrated it had learned quite a bit from its setbacks of 1861 and was able to achieve significant operational and tactical success on both land and sea. This enabled Union arms to bring a considerable portion of Virginia under Federal control—in some cases temporarily and in others permanently. Indeed, at points during the spring and early summer of 1862, it appeared the North just might succeed in bringing about the defeat of the rebellion before the year was out. A sweeping study of the operations on land and sea, From the Mountains to the Bay is the only modern scholarly work that looks at the operations that took place in Virginia in early 1862, from the Romney Campaign that opened the year to the naval engagement between the Monitor and Merrimac to the movements and engagements fought by Union and Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley, on the York-James Peninsula, and in northern Virginia, as a single, comprehensive campaign. Rafuse draws from extensive research in primary sources to provide a fast-paced, complete account of operations throughout Virginia, while also incorporating findings of recent scholarship on the factors that shaped these campaigns. The work provides invaluable insights into the factors and individuals who shaped these operations, how they influenced the course of the war, the relationships between political leaders and men in uniform, and how all these factors affected the development and execution of strategy, operations, and tactics.

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422

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700633537

ISBN 13

9780700633531

Antietam, South Mountain, and Harpers Ferry

A Battlefield Guide

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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Antietam, South Mountain, and Harpers Ferry

A Battlefield Guide

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

In September 1862 the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac conducted one of the truly great campaigns of the Civil War. At South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, and Antietam, North and South clashed in engagements whose magnitude and importance would earn this campaign a distinguished place in American military history. The siege of Harpers Ferry produced the largest surrender of U.S. troops in the nation's history until World War II, while the day-long battle at Antietam on September 17 still holds the distinction of being the single bloodiest day of combat in Amer.

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283

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U of Nebraska Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0803219431

ISBN 13

9780803219434

Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865

By: Ethan S. Rafuse

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308

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Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

0742551261

ISBN 13

9780742551268

A Single Grand Victory

The First Campaign and Battle of Manassas

By: Ethan Sepp Rafuse

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A Single Grand Victory

The First Campaign and Battle of Manassas

By: Ethan Sepp Rafuse

This series offers to students of the Civil War, either those continuing or those just beginning their exciting journey into the past, concise overviews of important persons, events, and themes in that remarkable period of America's history."--BOOK JACKET.

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