Overview

""What If...?"" Every Civil War armchair general asks the question. Possibilities unfold. Disappointments vanish. Imaginations soar. More questions arise. Asking ""What if..."" is often more than an exercise in wishful fantasy. A serious inquiry sparks rigorous exploration, demands critical thinking, and unlocks important insights. The Great ""What Ifs"" of the American Civil War: Historians Tackle the Conflict's Most Intriguing Possibilities is a collection of thirteen essays by the historians at Emerging Civil War, including a foreword by acclaimed alternate history writer Peter G. Tsouras. Each entry focuses on one of the most important events of the war and unpacks the options of the moment. To understand what happened, we must look at what could have happened, with the full multitude of choices before us and a clear and objective eye. ""What if"" is a tool for illumination. This is not a collection of alternate histories or counterfactual scenarios. Rather, it is an invitation to ask, to learn, and to wonder, ""What if...?"" AUTHOR: Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of the online resource Emerging Civil War. A writing professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, NY, Chris is also historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield in central Virginia. The series editor of the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series, he has authored or co-authored a dozen books on the Civil War, and his articles have appeared in major Civil War magazines. 30 images, 4 maps

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9781611215731

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Reviews

Editors Chris Mackowski and Brian Jordan tackle some of the age-old questions of the Civil War with the help of a phalanx of scholars. Counterfactual history is fun and can also teach us a great deal about the tenuous nature of actual events as they unfolded. --Brian Steel Wills, Director, Civil War Center, Kennesaw State University Wholeheartedly embracing the direction Emerging Civil War is taking with this exciting new volume, I ask the 'What If ' question with the groups I take to the First Day at Chancellorsville battlefield, preserved by the American Battlefield Trust. To counter a developer's claims that 'nothing important' happened on that hallowed ground, I counter that future events were dramatically changed by Joe Hooker's one decision to abandon that high ground and pull back to the crossroads. Far from being a frivolous exercise, this type of study deepens our knowledge of the actual events and helps us understand their significance in new and intriguing ways. --David Duncan, President, American Battlefield Trust The Great 'What Ifs' of the American Civil War is truly a gift to devoted arm-chair historians. This thought-provoking and entertaining collection of essays explores in-depth questions that have haunted Civil War historiography: What if Stonewall Jackson had lived? What if Lincoln had dodged the assassin's bullet? What if Lee had waged guerrilla warfare in April 1865? We will never know the answers with certainty, but this fascinating volume moves us as close as we will probably ever get. Highly recommended! --Gordon C. Rhea, author of the 5-volume series on the Overland Campaign The Great 'What Ifs' is a lively and engaging examination of those perennial 'second guesses' no student of the war fails to appreciate. No 'pie in the sky' here--each exploration is firmly rooted in fact, with a keen appreciation of context, providing provocative insight without sacrificing history. Readers might be surprised at some of the conclusions, but I think they will also be thoroughly entertained. --David A. Powell, author of the award-winning series 'The Chickamauga Campaign'

...compelling and convincing arguments based upon historical and technical knowledge and each possess a grasp of the character(s) position and perspective. Proposing the alternations suggested will certainly spice up any Civil War discussion... --Arley McCormick, Tennessee Valley CWRT Editors Chris Mackowski and Brian Jordan tackle some of the age-old questions of the Civil War with the help of a phalanx of scholars. Counterfactual history is fun and can also teach us a great deal about the tenuous nature of actual events as they unfolded. --Brian Steel Wills, Director, Civil War Center, Kennesaw State University Wholeheartedly embracing the direction Emerging Civil War is taking with this exciting new volume, I ask the 'What If ' question with the groups I take to the First Day at Chancellorsville battlefield, preserved by the American Battlefield Trust. To counter a developer's claims that 'nothing important' happened on that hallowed ground, I counter that future events were dramatically changed by Joe Hooker's one decision to abandon that high ground and pull back to the crossroads. Far from being a frivolous exercise, this type of study deepens our knowledge of the actual events and helps us understand their significance in new and intriguing ways. --David Duncan, President, American Battlefield Trust The Great 'What Ifs' of the American Civil War is truly a gift to devoted arm-chair historians. This thought-provoking and entertaining collection of essays explores in-depth questions that have haunted Civil War historiography: What if Stonewall Jackson had lived? What if Lincoln had dodged the assassin's bullet? What if Lee had waged guerrilla warfare in April 1865? We will never know the answers with certainty, but this fascinating volume moves us as close as we will probably ever get. Highly recommended! --Gordon C. Rhea, author of the 5-volume series on the Overland Campaign The Great 'What Ifs' is a lively and engaging examination of those perennial 'second guesses' no student of the war fails to appreciate. No 'pie in the sky' here--each exploration is firmly rooted in fact, with a keen appreciation of context, providing provocative insight without sacrificing history. Readers might be surprised at some of the conclusions, but I think they will also be thoroughly entertained. --David A. Powell, author of the award-winning series 'The Chickamauga Campaign'

Author Information

Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is the editor in chief and a co-founder of Emerging Civil War, and he’s the managing editor of the Emerging Civil War Series published by Savas Beatie. Chris is a writing professor in the Jandoli School of Communication at St. Bonaventure University, where he also serves as the associate dean for undergraduate programs, and is the historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania Court House battlefield. Brian Matthew Jordan is associate professor of Civil War history and chair of the History Department at Sam Houston State University. He lives in southeast Texas. He is the author of Unholy Sabbath: The Battle of South Mountain in History and Memory (Savas Beatie, 2011). His book Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War (Liveright, 2015) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Most recently, his book A Thousand May Fall: Life, Death, and Survival in the Union Army (Liveright, 2021) was one of the top-selling Civil War titles of the year.

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