Every Day of the Civil War

March 15, 2011
Covering individuals, battles (both land and naval), skirmishes, and major political events, this encyclopedia provides a unique approach to the study of the American Civil War. It is organized chronologically, beginning with 1850 and ending in 1866 with the death of Lieutenant General Winfield Scott. Within each year, entries are organized by day and then by state or activity (such as naval activity; Union general officer activity) and range in length from a line or two to more than a page. Following the entries are seven appendixes listing total casualities, Union generals, brevetted Union brigadier generals, Confederate generals, Union naval officers, naval actions, and Medal of Honor recipients. To use this encyclopedia as a reference work, the index is key. The index is divided into sections for Confederate Regiments, Union Federal Units, and Union State Units, followed by alphabetical entries for names, naval vessels, places, Indian tribes, armies, and more. The page numbers for some entries are very extensive. The index entry for Robert E. Lee, for example, has almost 40 lines of undifferentiated page numbers, which can be frustrating for the user. This encyclopedia will be popular with researchers as well as Civil War buffs. Recommended for academic libraries and for public libraries serving patrons with an interest in the topic.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)