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Product Description New developments in Civil War scholarship owe much to removal of artificial divides by historians seeking to explore the connections between the home front and the battlefield. Indeed, scholars taking a holistic view of the war have contributed to our understanding of the social complexities of emancipation―of freedom in a white republic―and the multifaceted experiences of both civilians and soldiers. Given these accomplishments, research focusing on military history prompts prominent and recurring debates among Civil War historians. Critics of traditional military history see it as old-fashioned, too technical, or irrelevant to the most important aspects of the war. Proponents of this area of study view these criticisms as a misreading of its nature and potential to illuminate the war. The collected essays in Upon the Fields of Battle bridge this intellectual divide, demonstrating how historians enrich Civil War studies by approaching the period through the specific but nonetheless expansive lens of military history.Drawing together contributions from Keith Altavilla, Robert L. Glaze, John J. Hennessy, Earl J. Hess, Brian Matthew Jordan, Kevin M. Levin, Brian D. McKnight, Jennifer M. Murray, and Kenneth W. Noe, editors Andrew S. Bledsoe and Andrew F. Lang present an innovative volume that deeply integrates and analyzes the ideas and practices of the military during the Civil War. Furthermore, by grounding this collection in both traditional and pioneering methodologies, the authors assess the impact of this field within the social, political, and cultural contexts of Civil War studies.Upon the Fields of Battle reconceives traditional approaches to subjects like battles and battlefields, practice and policy, command and culture, the environment, the home front, civilians and combatants, atrocity and memory, revealing a more balanced understanding of the military aspects of the Civil War’s evolving history. Review This book is a rousing call to arms for Civil War historians. With an impressive range of topics and methodologies related to campaigns, battles, command, irregular warfare, occupation, soldiers, and memory, the contributors set the standard for how to write compelling and original military histories. -- Lorien Foote, author of The Yankee Plague: Escaped Union Prisoners and the Collapse of the Confederacy Military operations, by their very nature, have always assumed a complexity that few other historical events possess. The essays featured in Upon the Fields of Battle capture the myriad of ways that warfare permeated the social and political life of Civil War America without pushing Union and Confederate armies to the periphery of the main story. The contributors to this essential volume, through innovative methodologies and compelling writing, have battered down the ancient walls of tradition that have long isolated Civil War military history from its natural allies in cultural and social history. Upon the Fields of Battle is a triumph. -- Peter S. Carmichael, author of The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies Upon the Fields of Battle emphasizes the inherent unpredictability of warfare, rejects the ‘conceit of perfect retrospection,’ and offers readers ways to think anew about the traditional military history of the American Civil War. These essays will prove especially useful to those pondering new directions in military history. -- Susannah J. Ural, author of Hood’s Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacy’s Most Celebrated Unit Book Description Foreword by Gary W. Gallagher About the Author Test for Lang/Bledsoe Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. ContentsForeword: Gary W. Gallagher I. Considerations Military History and the American Civil War Andrew S. Bledsoe and Andrew F. LangRejuvenating Traditional Military History in the Current Age of Civil War StudiesEarl J. HessII. The Conte