The Civil War was one of the greatest points of crisis in the history of the United States, and the first modern war. In this book, under the general editorship of Professor Henry Steele Commager, some of the most distinguished scholars of American history describe how the war was a conflict between two societies moving inexorably towards a tragic clash of arms which resulted in the destruction of the slave-owning South.

The authors show how the Southern States began to grow apart from the North in the early 19th century, how they identified their future with the continuation of slavery, and why they seceded in 1861. The war itself is fully covered; not only the innovations in weapons, tactics and strategy, but also the social and political context which often determined the course of the fighting on the battlefield.

This wide coverage of all aspects of the war is reinforced by over 300 illustrations, which provide a vivid impression of the various aspects of life at the time —whether at the front, on slave plantations or in the notorious prison camps such as Andersonville.