Generals South, Generals North: The Commanders of the Civil War Reconsidered Paperback - 2016

From the rear cover

By the time the Civil War was over, 583 generals had served in the Union army and 572 in the Confederate army. A few were brilliant. Many should never have held command. But others learned on the job and did their utmost--or even gave their utmost. All were faced with a mission daunting beyond our ability to imagine. They commanded regiments, brigades, divisions, corps, and armies bigger than any ever before fielded on the North American continent. Both sides started practically from scratch, building very large armies from forces miniscule or nonexistent and planning the strategy and tactics of warfare on a scale and of a nature no American had even contemplated. In Generals South, Generals North, best-selling author and military historian Alan Axelrod chooses the two dozen generals who had the greatest impact on the course and outcome of the war. He presents a biography of each, narrates the major engagements in which each fought, and explores the reputation of each based on historical sources as well as the opinions of current Civil War researchers. On this basis he then assigns a numerical rating to each.On this 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, Generals South, Generals North is a must for all readers interested in the conflict.