William H. Tunnard's Books

The Cause Lost

Myths and Realities of the Confederacy

By: William C. Davis

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

The Cause Lost

Myths and Realities of the Confederacy

By: William C. Davis

For nearly a quarter of a century, Pulitzer Prize nominee William C. Davis has been one of our best writers on the Civil War. His books-including Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol; Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour; and "A Government of Our Own": The Making of the Confederacy-have garnered numerous awards and enlightened and entertained an avid readership. The Cause Lost extends that tradition of excellence with provocative new insights into the myths and realities of an endlessly fascinating subject. In these pages, Davis brings into sharp focus the facts and fictions of the South's victories and defeats, its tenacious struggle to legitimize its cause and defeat an overpowering enemy, and its ultimate loss of will. He debunks long-standing legends, offers irrefutable evidence explaining Confederate actions, and contemplates the idealism, naivete, folly, and courage of the military leadership and would-be founding fathers. Among the most misunderstood, Davis contends, was Jefferson Davis. Often branded as enigmatic and incompetent, the Confederate president was simply a decent and committed leader whose mistakes were magnified by the war's extraordinary demands. Davis scrutinizes Jefferson Davis' relationship with his generals-most of whom were unproved talents or cronies with proven deficiencies-and reveals why only Robert E. Lee succeeded in winning Davis' confidence through flattery, persuasion, and a sense of responsibility. He also examines the myths and memories of the nearly deified Stonewall Jackson and John C. Breckinridge, the only effective Confederate secretary of war. Davis also illustrates why the cause of the war-a subject of long-standing controversy-boils down to the single issue of slavery; why Southerners, ninety percent of whom didn't own slaves, were willing to join in the battle to defend their homeland; how the personalities, tactics, and styles of the armies in the turbulent West differed greatly from those in the East; what real or perceived turning points influenced Southern decision making; and how mythology and misinterpretations have been perpetuated through biography, history, literature, and film. Revealing the Confederacy's myths for what they really are, Davis nevertheless illustrates how much those myths inform our understanding of the Civil War and its place in Southern and American culture.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

237

Publisher

University Press of Kansas

Published Date

ISBN 10

0700612548

ISBN 13

9780700612543

Bourbonism and Agrarian Protest

Louisiana Politics, 1877–1900

By: William Ivy Hair

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Bourbonism and Agrarian Protest

Louisiana Politics, 1877–1900

By: William Ivy Hair

Historians have come to think on the late nineteenth century as America’s Gilded Age. But in Louisiana it was a time of conflict and repression—turbulent years which engendered the social and political forces that ultimately produced the Huey Long era. Professor William Ivy Hair has captured the essence of Louisiana life and politics during this era, the decades that followed the end of Reconstruction. Using many quotations from newspapers and other relevant sources, the author has recreated in a readable narrative not only the political developments but the flavor of contemporary life and the prevalent emotions of the period. He focuses on the two major opposing forces in the state during the era: the conservative Bourbon oligarchy and the various protest movements of disadvantaged whites and blacks. To provide a background for a perceptive understanding of this political conflict, he undertakes a broad-gauged examination of the social, economic, and racial conditions in the state from 1877 to 1900. Beginning with the sordid story of the events surrounding the end of Reconstruction, Hair examines and analyzes the Democratic oligarchy, the leading personalities involved, and its several factions. He examines the economic and social conditions of both rural and urban Louisiana, and discusses the Greenback-agrarian upheaval of 1878, the larger protest movement that followed, the attempted mass Negro exodus from the state during the so-called “Kansas Fever” of 1879, the spread of the Farmers’ Union and Alliance of the 1880's, and the rise of Populism in the 1890's. Having crushed Greenbackism and related independent movements, Hair says, the Bourbon oligarchy proceeded to fasten upon Louisiana what was probably the most reactionary and least socially responsible regime in the history of the post-Civil War South. Bourbanism and Agrarian Protest combines thorough scholarly research and clear, perceptive writing. It covers every issue and every event of consequence of the era and is an excellent sequel to Roger W. Shugg’s Origins of Class Struggle in Louisiana, which treats the period from 1840 to 1875.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

332

Publisher

LSU Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807102067

ISBN 13

9780807102060

Wilson's Creek

The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It

By: William Garrett Piston,Richard W. Hatcher, III

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Wilson's Creek

The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It

By: William Garrett Piston,Richard W. Hatcher, III

In the summer of 1861, Americans were preoccupied by the question of which states would join the secession movement and which would remain loyal to the Union. This question was most fractious in the border states of Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. In Mi

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

436

Publisher

Univ of North Carolina Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0807855758

ISBN 13

9780807855751

No Pardons to Ask, Nor Apologies to Make

The Journal of William Henry King, Gray's 28th Louisiana Infantry Regiment

By: William Henry King

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

No Pardons to Ask, Nor Apologies to Make

The Journal of William Henry King, Gray's 28th Louisiana Infantry Regiment

By: William Henry King

William Henry King began war service in 1862 in Louisiana and ended it in 1865 in Camden, Arkansas. During this period he chronicled action in the Trans-Mississippi theater, producing a diary that yields one of the most important accounts from a Confederate enlisted man. No Pardons to Ask, Nor Apologies to Make is a gritty look into the life of a soldier, with no romantic gloss. While most journals record the mundane day-to-dayroutine, King's consistently detailed entries-notable for their literary style, King's venomous wit, and his colorful descriptions-cover a wide array of matters pertaining to the Confederate experience in the West. King's observations about his superiors, the Confederacy, contraband, and the underreported Trans-Mississippi campaign are especially striking. Though his long service demonstrates a certain loyalty to the Confederate cause, he writes sharp criticisms of his superiors, of military discipline, and of contemporaneous social and class conditions. His discontent is rooted within a fiery sense of independence that conflicts with centralized authority, whether it takes the form of military, government, or class control. Few published diaries capture the tension and turmoil that existed in the Southern ranks or the class resentment that festered in some quarters of the Confederacy. No Pardons to Ask, Nor Apologies to Make makes an important contribution to understanding how class functioned in the Confederate command and also provides a much-needed account of action in the Trans-Mississippi theater, where the primary sources are extremely slim.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

360

Publisher

Univ. of Tennessee Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1572334614

ISBN 13

9781572334618

Book's by William H. Tunnard

The Cause Lost

The Cause Lost

Bourbonism and Agrarian Protest

Bourbonism and Agrarian Protest

Wilson's Creek

Wilson's Creek

No Pardons to Ask, Nor Apologies to Make

No Pardons to Ask, Nor Apologies to Make

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email