Fighting for the Confederacy - (Civil War America) by Gary W Gallagher (Paperback)

About the Book

Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander

Book Synopsis

Originally published by UNC Press in 1989, Fighting for the Confederacy is one of the richest personal accounts in all of the vast literature on the Civil War. Alexander was involved in nearly all of the great battles of the East, from First Manassas through Appomattox, and his duties brought him into frequent contact with most of the high command of the Army of Northern Virginia, including Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. No other Civil War veteran of his stature matched Alexander's ability to discuss operations in penetrating detail -- this is especially true of his description of Gettysburg. His narrative is also remarkable for its utterly candid appraisals of leaders on both sides.

Review Quotes

"A treasure of Civil War 'personal memoirs' . . . altogether livelier and more irreverent than anything in Grant's and Sherman's books."--New Republic

"Alexander's new memoirs are relaxed and engaging, lacking the self-importance that mars the memoirs of a good many soldiers with weaker claims to distinction than his, and refreshingly candid about his own frailties and those of some of the Confederacy's most revered commanders."--American Heritage

"Alexander's vigorous prose and astute personal observations . . . have made Fighting for the Confederacy a new landmark in Civil War historiography, one that no historian of the period can afford to ignore."--Journal of Southern History

"All serious students of the Army of Northern Virginia . . . owe a debt of gratitude to Gary Gallagher. . . . This book is destined to become a classic. It is simply must reading."--Blue and Gray

"Gary W. Gallagher, in publishing Fighting for the Confederacy, has given Civil War historians one of the most unexpected and delightful surprises in many years. . . . It is a book that must be read."--Louisiana History

"The publication of Fighting for the Confederacy constitutes the most important addition to Confederate historiography in years. . . . A pleasure to read. . . . [It] will join the list of essential readings for students of the Civil War."--Civil War History

"Unquestionably will join the ranks of those standard works that every serious student of the Civil War will want to read."--Georgia Historical Quarterly

"What a marvelous book! . . . Because of Gallagher's editorial efforts everyone interested in the Confederacy has ready access to what may very well be the most outstanding Confederate military memoir."--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

About the Author

Gary W. Gallagher is John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia.