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.
#1402674 in Books 1989-08-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .48 x 6.00l; .68 #File Name: 0807842605192 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Primary Sources Documenting the Great AwakeningBy Dr. Marc AxelrodI am doing a paper on the preaching of Whitefield and Edwards during the Great Awakening; so I almost jumped for joy when this book came in the mail! Here you have theological treatises and tracts and narratives from revivalists who witnessed the tremendous workings of God during the time of the TransAtlantic religious revivals. You have Samuel Blair's faithful narrative of the revival in 1744 Pennsylvania; George Whitefield's eyewitness reports from his journals; and even some of the anti-revival literature of Charles Chauncey.You also have the regrettable reports of the extremism encouraged by James Davenport as well as some of Jonathan Edwards' later reflections.The bottom line is that this is a treasure trove of primary source data about the years of revival in the colonies. A must have for those interested in this era of history.1 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Deserves a better presentation with related contentBy David ClappI am the descendant of six nineteenth century American ministers; have some of their papers; several book written by about them; and many sermons. I'm also fascinated by the apparent effects of ministers from the Great Awakening on literacy in New England; the abolition of slavery; women's rights; and the ethical treatment of Native Americans in places like the Brainerd Mission. From that context; this collection was fairly lifeless. I wish more time had been put into presenting the contexts; new ideas; contacts; and involvements of the various ministers recorded. One of my relatives; the reverend Theodore Clapp who operated out of New Orleans; described the horror of listening to the hellfire and fears about death from ministers when a young brother died; and how atheists he encountered often went to their deaths more at peace that Christians he encountered. Unfortunately; I got more of a sense of this negativity from this collection than I did the inclusivity.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The Great AwakeningBy J. LindnerThis documentary history is well organized and seems to have about as many important documents from the era as one could expect. They range from documents that pre-date the events surrounding the awakening (and were probably not read by many in colonial America) to the sermons and the exposes of the principal participants. The documents are not necessarily easy to read; but they are important sources of information for theologians and historians alike. If you are a very serious student of religion or colonial history; then this book has a lot to offer. If you are looking for a basic book on the Awakening events; then you will want to look elsewhere. This book includes sermons and treatises by George Whitefield; Jonathan Edwards; and others who factored into the religious revival. The collection ranges from sermons to newspaper rebuttals; to treatises. It shows the complexities of the Awakening; not as a unified event; but as a series of revia=vals that lead to division amongst the different generaations alive at the time. Young "New Lights" pitted their experiences against the more traditional "Old Lights" who saw no good happening with the younger generation. In a way; it is the age-old battle of a new generation attempting to establish its purpose against the accepted traditions of the older generation. If you do read this book; it will place a new perspective on the Awakening to show how complex colonial history truly is.
