Bøker av Earl J. Hess

"The American Civil War saw the creation of the largest, most potent artillery force ever deployed in a conflict fought in the Western Hemisphere. Its size was about as large and powerful as any raised in prior European wars. Moreover, Union and Confederate artillery included the largest number of rifled pieces fielded in any conflict in the world up to that point. Amazingly, Earl Hess's "Civil War Field Artillery" is the first comprehensive general history of the artillery arm that supported infantry and cavalry in the conflict. Hess examines the major factors that affected artillerists and their work, including the hardware (cannons, carriages, limbers, caissons, tubes, and the fuses that exploded ordnance), the organization of artillery power (assembling batteries, battalions, regiments, Union artillery brigades, and Confederate artillery battalions), relationships between artillery officers and infantry/cavalry commanders, environmental factors on the battlefield, and many other influences on effectiveness as well. Hess's study offers numerous new interpretations of Civil War artillery based on deep and expansive research, especially in available statistical data. For example, in terms of organizing and managing the artillery arm, officers of the era and subsequent historians alike decried the early war practice of dispersing the guns and assigning them to infantry brigades or divisions where infantry officers completely commanded them. They also praised the concentration system most major field armies put into place during the latter half of the war. However, based on the evidence, Hess suggests that the dispersal system of the early part of the war did not inhibit the concentration of artillery power on the battlefield and that the concentration system of the latter half of the conflict failed to produce more concentration of guns. Another example relates to the effectiveness of fuses to explode long-range ordnance. Previous historians have praised those fuses, admitting they had initial problems early in the war, which each side fixed. Hess's research clearly shows that was not the case. Battery commanders continued to report bad fuses to the very end of the war. Cumulative data on what type of projectiles commanders fired in battle shows that they lessened their use of the new long-range exploding ordnance due to bad fuses while increasing their use of solid shot, the oldest artillery projectile in history. Hess's wide-ranging study argues that Civil War field artillery failed to live up to its promise, especially rifled pieces. As a general history, it also covers all aspects of the history of field artillery in the conflict, including the life of the artilleryman, the use of artillery horses, manpower replacement practices, the effect of widespread use of field fortifications on artillery performance, and the problems of resupplying batteries in the field. His comprehensive coverage and new interpretations bring the history of field artillery up to date and will contribute to a re-envisioning of the military history of the Civil War"--

Military historian Earl Hess reveals how a combination of rugged terrain, poor coordination, and low battlefield morale among Union troops influenced the result of the largest attack mounted by Grant's Army of the Tennessee.

Offering new and definitive interpretations of the battle of Peach Tree Creek's place within the Atlanta campaign, Earl J. Hess describes how several Confederate regiments and brigades made a pretense of advancing but then stopped partway to the objective and then took cover. Hess shows that morale played an unusually important role in determining the outcome at Peach Tree Creek.

Offers a sweeping examination of the decisive link between the distribution of provisions to soldiers and the strategic movement of armies during the Civil War. Earl J. Hess reveals how that dynamic served as the key to success, especially for the Union army as it undertook bold offensives striking far behind Confederate lines.

Whether as a curiosity or a beloved idol, Gene Kelly lives on in our cultural memory as a fantastic dancer in MGM musicals, especially Singin' in the Rain. But dancing, however extraordinary, was only one of his many gifts. This book, for the first time, offers a full picture of Gene Kelly as the Renaissance man he actually was.

During the Civil War, neither the Union nor the Confederate army could have operated without effective transportation systems. Moving men, supplies, and equipment required coordination on a massive scale, and Earl J. Hess's Civil War Logistics offers the first comprehensive analysis of this vital process.

Unlike much military history that focuses on grand strategies, Earl Hess zeroes in on formations and manoeuvres (or primary tactics), describing their purpose and usefulness in regimental case studies, and pinpointing which of them were favourites of unit commanders in the field.

Kennesaw Mountain: Sherman, Johnston, and the Atlanta Campaign

In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications and Confederate Defeat

Earl J.Hess's study of armies and fortifications turns to the 1864 Overland Campaign to cover battles from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor. Drawing on primary sources and examination of battlefields at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Bermuda Hundred, and Cold Harbor, Hess analyses Union and Confederate movements and tactics and the new way Grant and Lee employed entrenchments.

Provides a narrative history of the use of fortifications - particularly trenches and other semi-permanent earthworks - used by Confederate and Union field armies at all major battle sites in the eastern theatre of the US Civil War. Earl J. Hess moves beyond the technical aspects of construction to demonstrate the crucial role these earthworks played in the success or failure of field armies.

Concentrating on ideology and cultural values, this text explores the motivations that caused Northerners to fight America's Civil War. The book addresses the intellectual and social elites of Northern society, but also assesses the opinions of the common man on the subject and ideology of war.

Sweeping away many of the myths that have long surrounded Pickett's Charge, the author offers the history of the most famous military action of the Civil War. He transforms exhaustive research into a narrative account of the assault from both Union and Confederate perspectives, analyzing its planning, execution, aftermath, and legacy.

The Tar Heels were one of the hardest-fighting units in the Army of Northern Virginia, Hess draws on letters, diaries, memoirs and service records to explore the camp life, social backgrounds and political attitudes as well as chronicling their military engagements.

In the fall and winter of 1863, Union General Ambrose Burnside and Confederate General James Longstreet vied for control of the city of Knoxville and with it the railroad that linked the Confederacy east and west. This important campaign has never received a full scholarly treatment. In this landmark book, Earl J. Hess fills this gap in Civil War scholarship.

A native of Warren County, Iowa, Cyrus F. Boyd served a year and a half as an orderly sergeant with the Fifteenth Iowa Infantry before becoming first lieutenant in Company B of the Thirty-Fourth Iowa Infantry. His diary offers a full account of soldiering in the Union Army.

Analyses three major Civil War campaigns that were conducted following a series of devastating Confederate defeats at the hands of Ulysses S. Grant in the spring of 1862. Earl J. Hess mixes dramatic narrative and new analysis as he brings these campaigns together in a coherent whole. Previously unpublished historic photographs of the battlefields are included.

A comprehensive examination of the iconic Civil War battle, its tragic outcome, and the personalities involved

Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove were three of the most important battles fought west of the Mississippi River during the Civil War. They influenced that region by shaping Union military efforts while contributing to Confederate defeat. This book provides a detailed guide to these battlefields, and the major sites of each engagement.