Civil War Saturday: Edward Longacre: Worthy Opponents

Ed Longacre has written more than 20 books and 100 journal and magazine articles on the Civil War. The Cavalry at Gettysburg won the Fletcher Pratt Award as the best book of Civil War nonfiction. Pickett, Leader of the Charge was a finalist for the Douglas Southall Freeman Award. Lee's Cavalrymen was a main selection of the History Book Club. He was a historical advisor to the 1993 motion picture Gettysburg. Ed Longacre lives in Newport News, Virginia, where he is a civilian historian for the United States Air Force.

About Worthy Opponents
William T. Sherman's burning of Atlanta helped reelect Abraham Lincoln. In contrast, if Confederate President Jefferson Davis had left Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, one of its most effective generals, in command of Atlanta's defenses, the city might have been preserved. Edward Longacre offers a new perspective on Sherman's and Johnston's military histories, including their clashes at Vicksburg, Kennesaw Mountain, and Bentonville, where they negotiated surrender terms. After the War they became friends, to such an extent that Johnston was a pallbearer at Sherman's 1891 funeral.