Background
Castel, Albert Edward was born on November 11, 1928 in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Son of Albert Edward and Dorothy (Williamson) Castel.
( Indeed, the story of General Price -- as this account b...)
Indeed, the story of General Price -- as this account by Albert Castle shows -- is the story, in large part, of the Confederacy's struggle in the West. The author draws a fascinating portrait of Price the man -- vain, courageous, addicted to secrecy -- and produces insightful interpretations and much pertinent information about the Civil War in the West.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807118540/?tag=2022091-20
(Following a skirmish on June 28, 1864, a truce is called ...)
Following a skirmish on June 28, 1864, a truce is called so the North can remove their dead and wounded. For two hours, Yankees and Rebels mingle, with some of the latter even assisting the former in their grisly work. Newspapers are exchanged. Northern coffee is swapped for Southern tobacco. Yanks crowd around two Rebel generals, soliciting and obtaining autographs. As they part, a Confederate calls to a Yankee, "I hope to miss you, Yank, if I happen to shoot in your direction." "May I, never hit you Johnny if we fight again," comes the reply. The reprieve is short. A couple of months, dozens of battles, and more than 30,000 casualties later, the North takes Atlanta. One of the most dramatic and decisive episodes of the Civil War, the Atlanta Campaign was a military operation carried out on a grand scale across a spectacular landscape that pitted some of the war's best (and worst) general against each other. In Decision in the West, Albert Castel provides the first detailed history of the Campaign published since Jacob D. Cox's version appeared in 1882. Unlike Cox, who was a general in Sherman's army, Castel provides an objective perspective and a comprehensive account based on primary and secondary sources that have become available in the past 110 years. Castel gives a full and balanced treatment to the operations of both the Union and Confederate armies from the perspective of the common soldiers as well as the top generals. He offers new accounts and analyses of many of the major events of the campaign, and, in the process, corrects many long-standing myths, misconceptions, and mistakes. In particular, he challenges the standard view of Sherman's performance. Written in present tense to give a sense of immediacy and greater realism, Decision in the West demonstrates more definitively than any previous book how the capture of Atlanta by Sherman's army occurred and why it assured Northern victory in the Civil War.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/070060748X/?tag=2022091-20
(Nowhere was the Civil War as savage as it was in Missouri...)
Nowhere was the Civil War as savage as it was in Missouri and nowhere did it produce a killer more savage than William Anderson. For a brief but dramatic period, "Bloody Bill" played the leading role in the most violent arena of the entire war and did so with a vicious abandon that spread fear throughout the land. A name associated with William Quantrill and Jesse James, Bloody Bill Anderson was known for never taking prisoners. A former horse thief turned bushwhacker, he became the scourge of Kansas and Missouri with a reputation for unspeakable atrocities. Sometimes he left the bodies of dead Federal soldiers scalped, skinned, and castrated. Sometimes he decapitated them and rearranged their heads. Wherever Bloody Bill rode, the Grim Reaper rode alongside. In telling this story of bitter bloodshed, historians Castel and Goodrich track Bloody Bill's reign of terror over increasingly violent raids. He rode with Quantrill in the infamous sack of Lawrence and killed more victims than any other raider. Then he led the brutal Centralia Massacre, a blood-soaked nightmare recounted here hour-by-hour from firsthand accounts. More than compiling a chronicle of horrors, Castel and Goodrich have produced the first full-fledged account of Anderson's career. They examine his prewar life, explain how he became a guerrilla, then describe the war that he and his men waged against Union soldiers and defenseless civilians alike. The authors' disagreements on many aspects of Anderson's gruesome career add a fascinating dimension to the book. Only 26 when he was killed charging an ambush, Bloody Bill Anderson had already become a legend. This book takes readers behind the legend and provides a closer look at the man and at the face of terror.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700614346/?tag=2022091-20
(When Kansas entered the Union on the eve of the Civil War...)
When Kansas entered the Union on the eve of the Civil War, she was poverty striken, demoralized by the drought of 1859-61, and disheartened by an economic depression. This account covers the significant era which followed, describing the political, military, social, and economic conditions of the state's first four years. Rescued from oblivion and misinterpretation are many important men and dramatic events of early Kansas and of the Civil War in the West. Primary emphasis properly falls on political and military matters.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1878882031/?tag=2022091-20
(Andrew Johnson, who became president after the assassinat...)
Andrew Johnson, who became president after the assassination of Lincoln, oversaw the most crucial and dramatic phase of Reconstruction. Historians have therefore tended to concentrate, to the exclusion of practically everything else, upon Johnson's key role in that titanic event. Although his volume focuses closely on Johnson's handling of Reconstruction, it also examines other important aspects of his administration, notably his foreign, economic, and Indian policies. As one of the few historians to do this, the author provides a broader and more balanced picture of Johnson's presidency than has been previously available. Johnson has always been an enigma: much is known about what he did, little about why he did it. He wrote few letters, kept no diary, and rarely confided in anyone. Most historians either admire or despise him, depending on whether they consider his Reconstruction policies right or wrong. Castel achieves an objective reassessment of Johnson and his presidential actions by examining him primarily in terms of his effectiveness in using power and by not judging him as most other scholars have on moralistic or ideological grounds. The book begins with an overview of America at the end of the Civil War and a description of Johnson's political career prior to 1865. Castel recounts the drama of Johnson's sudden inheritance of the presidency upon Lincoln's death and then examines how Johnson organized and operated his administration. Johnson's formulation of a Reconstruction policy for the defeated South comes under special scrutiny; Castel evaluates Johnson's motives for that policy, its implementation, and its reception in both North and South. He descries and analyzes Johnson's quarrel with the Republican-dominated Congress over Reconstruction, the triumph of the Republicans in the election of 1866, the president's frustrated attempt to remove Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton from office, his bitter dispute with General Ulysses S. Grant, and his impeachment by Congress. Johnson's impeachment trial is covered in detail; Castel explains how it was that Johnson escaped conviction and removal from office by the narrowest possible margin. The book concludes with a discussion of Johnson's place in history as judged by scholars during the past one hundred years. This study sheds light on the nation's problems during the chaotic period between 1865 and 1869 and contributes a great deal to a much improved understanding of the seventeenth president.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700601902/?tag=2022091-20
(Winning and Losing in the Civil War collects fifteen of t...)
Winning and Losing in the Civil War collects fifteen of the most influential short writings by accomplished Civil War historian Albert Castel, each presented with his trademark wit, style, and analytical precision. The author expounds on some of the most provocative, arresting issues surrounding the war, including the dispute over inevitability of Northern victory and the question of Lee's greatness on and off the battlefield. Castel contemplates presidents and mules, generals and guerrillas, lovers and haters, facts and opinions, actualities and probabilities. In addition, he uses the volume as a forum for reflecting on his role as historian, identifying the primary problem facing present-day practitioners of Civil War historiography, and illumining what remains to be accomplished in this heavily tilled but ever-popular field of scholarly inquiry.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/157003074X/?tag=2022091-20
( The Quantrill legend is rooted in acts of savage violen...)
The Quantrill legend is rooted in acts of savage violence throughout Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War--deeds both romanticized and vilified. In William Clarke Quantrill, Albert Castel’s classic biography, the story of Quantrill and his men comes alive through facts verified from firsthand, original sources. Castel traces Quantrill’s rise to power, from Kansas border ruffian and Confederate Army captain to lawless leader of "the most formidable band of revolver fighters the West ever knew." During the Civil War Quantrill and his men descended on Lawrence, Kansas, and carried out a frightful massacre of the civilian population. Some of Quantrill’s bushwhackers made names for themselves at Lawrence or after the war, as outlaws: "Bloody Bill" Anderson, Cole Younger, George Todd, "Little Archie" Clement, and Frank and Jesse James. Â
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806130814/?tag=2022091-20
(When Kansas entered the Union on the eve of the Civil War...)
When Kansas entered the Union on the eve of the Civil War, she was poverty striken, demoralized by the drought of 1859-61, and disheartened by an economic depression. This account covers the significant era which followed, describing the political, military, social, and economic conditions of the state's first four years. Rescued from oblivion and misinterpretation are many important men and dramatic events of early Kansas and of the Civil War in the West. Primary emphasis properly falls on political and military matters.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0313208638/?tag=2022091-20
Castel, Albert Edward was born on November 11, 1928 in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Son of Albert Edward and Dorothy (Williamson) Castel.
Bachelor, Wichita University, 1950. Master of Arts, Wichita University, 1951. Doctor of Philosophy, University Chicago, 1955.
Instructor history, University of California at Los Angeles, 1957-1958; assistant professor, Waynesburg (Pennsylvania) College, 1958-1960; assistant professor, Western Michigan U., Kalamazoo, 1960-1963; associate professor, Western Michigan U., Kalamazoo, 1963-1967; professor, Western Michigan U., Kalamazoo, 1967-1991; retired, Western Michigan U., Kalamazoo, 1991.
(Winning and Losing in the Civil War collects fifteen of t...)
(When Kansas entered the Union on the eve of the Civil War...)
(When Kansas entered the Union on the eve of the Civil War...)
( Indeed, the story of General Price -- as this account b...)
( The Quantrill legend is rooted in acts of savage violen...)
( The Quantrill legend is rooted in acts of savage violen...)
(Andrew Johnson, who became president after the assassinat...)
(Nowhere was the Civil War as savage as it was in Missouri...)
(Following a skirmish on June 28, 1864, a truce is called ...)
(Excellent condition: no highlights, no underlines, no dog...)
Corporal United States Army, 1955-1957.
Married GeorgeAnn Bennett, June 25, 1959. Children: Ann, Charles Albert.