Shades of Blue & Gray

Unique to books on the American Civil War, this concise and informative introductory military history places the 1861-1865 conflict within the broad international context of evolving warfare. Through colorful anecdotes, Hattaway discusses how technological innovations changed the configuration of the battlefield and the very face of war. Drawing on his own recent scholarship as well as that of others, Hattaway also explores the composition of the Confederate and Union armies and offers dramatic examples of how military professionalism did and didn't combine with an army necessarily recruited from the masses. Importantly, Hattaway concludes that many of the military lessons offered by the Civil War were directly applicable to battle situations in subsequent wars (including both world wars) but -- unfortunately for humankind -- infrequently heeded.