"Discovering Civil War America" series

One of the most promising Civil War history series of recent times is Ironclad Publishing's "Discovering Civil War America". Although each entry is softcover only and very reasonably priced, the presentation is not cheap, with large numbers of excellent maps included along with a battlefield tour at the end. Two volumes have been released so far:

Volume 1)Protecting the Flank: The Battles for Brinkerhoff's Ridge and East Cavalry Field, Battle of Gettysburg by Eric Wittenberg

Volume 2) A LITTLE SHORT OF BOATS : The Fights at Ball's Bluff and Edward's Ferry, October 21-22, 1861 by James Morgan

I unfortunately haven't gotten further than thumbing through volume one yet but have heard nothing but praise for it. I can't say enough good things about Morgan's work. It is the definitive history of Ball's Bluff by one who is clearly the leading expert on the battle. In my opinion, it was the best battle study of 2004.

The third volume "No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar" Sherman's Carolinas Campaign: from Fayetteville to Averasboro by Mark A. Smith and Wade Sokolosky is set to be released soon. I can't wait for this one. Click on the link for more information from the publisher.

(P.S. Eric Wittenberg of Ironclad Publishing kindly commented about what is in store for the future of the series. Here is what he wrote:

The fourth volume, which is just about ready to go to typesetting, is titled "The Battle Between the Farm Lanes", by Dave Shultz and David F. Wieck, and deals with Hancock's Corps on day 2 at Gettysburg.

The fifth volume, which will be out in the first half of 2006, is titled "One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg, July 4-13, 1863" by J. D. Petruzzi, Michael F. Nugent, and yours truly. It contains two driving tours (complete with GPS coordinates): the route of the Wagon Train of Wounded, and the fighting between Gettysburg and Potomac River.

The sixth volume, which should come out about the same time, is titled "Flames Across the Susquehanna: The Gordon Expedition", by Scott Mingus, Sr., and deals with the first skirmishes at Gettysburg, the fall of York, and the burning of the covered bridge across the Susquehanna at Columbia.

We have a few other things in the works for the series (J. D. and I are going to do a volume on Monocacy, and I also hope to have a volume on Perryville as soon as I find an appropriate author) that will keep up the quality of the series. We're focusing all of our efforts on this series, and we're proud of it.)