January 25, 2006 New Publication Features Civil War Images from the Library of Congress

Press Contact: Audrey Fischer (202) 707-0022 | Carol Morgan, Harry N. Abrams Inc. (212) 229-7183

“The American Civil War: 365 Days” by Margaret E. Wagner will be published by the Library this spring in association with Harry N. Abrams Inc.

“We have delved into our store of American memories—including the millions of items not yet available online—and selected more than 500 images from the Library’s incomparable collection that provide telling glimpses of our nation’s tumultuous conflict and the world of mid-19th-century-America,” said Librarian of Congress James. H. Billlington. “Excerpts from manuscript letters of Northern and Southern soldiers and civilians lace through the text and reveal the passionate eloquence and utter conviction that characterized Americans on both sides of this brutal conflict.”

“This selection of items from the Library’s holdings conveys the richness of the material, as well as affords modern readers an opportunity to understand how Americans saw the war in 1861-65 and remembered it in the postwar decades,” said Gary Gallagher in the book’s introduction.

This lavishly illustrated book includes photographs by Mathew Brady, lithographs, battlefield drawings, political cartoons and music covers; recruitment, political and theatrical posters; an image of the contents of Lincoln’s pockets on the night he was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre; illustrated letters, and Lincoln’s handwritten Gettysburg Address.

The text is structured in 12 broad themes: “Irrepressible Conflict,” “Gathering Momentum,” “War in the East,” “Wartime Politics,” “War on the Water,” “Fighting for Freedom,” “Turning Points,” “Army Life,” “War in West,” “Behind the Lines,” “Valor and Sacrifice,” and “An Uneasy Peace.” The main text and images within each month pertain to the theme introduced on the first day of the month. The 365 daily entries at the bottom of each left-hand page comprise a separate running diary of noteworthy Civil War-related events.

Margaret E. Wagner, co-author and co-editor of “The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference,” is a senior writer/editor in the Publishing Office of the Library of Congress.

Gary W. Gallagher, author of “The Confederate War” and other Civil War books, is the John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia.

“The American Civil War: 365 Days,” a 752-page publication featuring 522 images, is available for $29.95 in bookstores nationwide and in the Library of Congress Sales Shop, Washington, DCC 2054-4985. Credit card orders are taken at (888) 682-3557. Online orders can be placed at www.loc.gov/shop/.

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PR 06-027
2006-01-25
ISSN 0731-3527