Bruce Catton: The Army of the Potomac Trilogy (Loa #359) - (Hardcover)

About the Book

Bruce Catton's Army of the Potomac trilogy is a landmark of historical story-telling, one of the most popular and influential works ever written about the Civil War. And yet for decades it has been unavailable in full. Now, Library of America restores the entirety of this essential classic to print in a deluxe, single-volume collector's edition, with full-color endpaper maps, and detailed notes and a newly-researched chronology of Catton's life and career by acclaimed Civil War scholar Gary W. Gallagher.

Book Synopsis

Library of America restores to print a masterpiece of Civil War history in a deluxe collector's edition

Bruce Catton's Army of the Potomac trilogy is a landmark of historical story-telling, one of the most popular and influential works ever written about the Civil War. And yet for decades it has been unavailable in full. Now, Library of America restores the entirety of this essential classic to print in a deluxe, single-volume collector's edition, with full-color endpaper maps, and detailed notes and a newly-researched chronology of Catton's life and career by acclaimed Civil War scholar Gary W. Gallagher.

Mr. Lincoln's Army, the first book in the trilogy, describes the Army of the Potomac's formation as the bulwark of the Union war effort as emerging friction between the army's commanding general George McClellan and the Commander in Chief in Washington reaches a crisis in the wake of the deadly battle at Antietam.

Glory Road recounts the critical months between the autumn of 1862 and midsummer 1863, including the battles at Fredericksburg, Rappahannock and Chancellorsville which set the stage for the costly Union victory as Gettysburg. Catton's retelling of the story of Lincoln's address at Gettysburg remains unrivalled.

In A Stillness of Appomattox, which won both Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, the Army of the Potomac, now under the driving command of Ulysses S. Grant, finally gains the upper hand against Robert E. Lee, culminating in one of the most vividly drawn accounts of Lee's final surrender.

Review Quotes

"Modern readers can--and should--derive much pleasure by reacquainting themselves with Catton's brilliant technique and formidable grasp." --Harold Holzer, The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

Bruce Catton (1899-1978) grew up in the small northern Michigan town of Benzonia, listening to Union veterans tell stories of the Civil War. In addition to the Army of the Potomac trilogy he wrote another dozen books on the Civil War, including This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War (1956) and his three-volume Centennial History, The Coming Fury (1961), Terrible Swift Sword (1963), and Never Call Retreat (1965). Catton also served as the founding editor of American Heritage, 1954-59, and as its senior editor from 1959 until his death.

Gary W. Gallagher is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia. The author or editor of numerous books, including The Union War and Becoming Confederates: Paths to a New National Loyalty, he has also participated in more than three dozen television projects.