The Blue & Gray Almanac: The Civil War in Facts and Figures, Recipes and Slang - Hardcover

Nofi, Albert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1612005527 ISBN 13: 9781612005522

Publisher: Casemate Publishers, 2017

Synopsis

Albert Nofi tells the story of the American War through a range of insightful essays, anecdotes, and facts. Did you know...

During the final days of the war some Richmond citizens were wont to throw Starvation Parties, at which elegantly attired guests would gather at soirees where the finest silver and crystal table ware was used, though there were usually no refreshments save water.
Union Rear-Admiral Goldsborough was nicknamed Old Guts , not so much for his combativeness as for his heft, weighing about 300 pounds, and was described as . . . a huge mass of inert matter.
30.6 percent of the 425 Confederate generals, but only 21.6 percent of the 583 Union generals, had been lawyers before the war.
In 1861, J. P. Morgan made a huge profit by buying 5,000 condemned US Army carbines and selling them back to another arsenal, taking the Army to court when they tried to refuse to pay for the faulty weapons.
Major General Loring was reputed to have so rich a vocabulary than one of the men once remarked he could "curse a cannon up hill without horses."
Many militia units had a favourite drink, the Charleston Light Dragoons punch took around a week to make while the Chatham Artillery required 1 pound of green tea leaves be steeped overnight.
There were five living former presidents when the Civil War began, and seven veterans of the war (plus one draft dodger) went on to serve as President.

About this title

Review

Almanacs are usually great fun, and this one is a cool way to learn about the American Civil War, and a unique opportunity to have a number of fantastic facts about it at your fingertips. Brilliant! Source: Books Monthly

A couple of hours with this text will be enough to convince a newcomer that this is a hugely rich theme to pursue, and it is recommended." - Winner of the 'Miniature Wargames Recommends' award for May 2018. Source: Miniature Wargames - John Drewienkiewicz

It’ll certainly appeal to anyone who wants a rather quirky look at some unusual aspects of the American Civil War. 4 stars. Source: Army Rumour Service

Listed in Military History Monthly's round up of the best military history titles for April 2018. Source: Military History Monthly

From the Publisher

Albert Nofi is a military historian, defense analyst and wargame designer. He has published over 30 books on a wide variety of topics. In parallel with three decades as a teacher and later administrator in New York public schools, he was associated editor of the journal Strategy and Tactics and produced a number of wargames. In 1999 Nofi became a research analyst with the Center for Naval Analyses, writing Recent Trends in Thinking About Warfare and several other analytical papers. He has lectured at a number of colleges, universities and other institutions including the University of Paris-Sorbonne, the Smithsonian, and the Air War College. For many years an Associate Fellow of the U.S. Civil War Center, he was a Director of the New York Military Affairs Symposium since its formation, and is a member of the Society for Military History and a number of other military and historical societies. From many years, Nofi contributed a regular column to North & South. In 1998, he became a contributing editor to StrategyPage.

About this edition

• Publisher: Casemate Publishers
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1612005527
• ISBN 13: 9781612005522
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304