A Brief Military History of the Civil War

by Mackubin T. Owens

Between 2007 and 2009, Mackubin T. Owens, Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College, wrote a series of articles for Ashbrook giving a brief overview of the military history of the Civil War. These articles have been compiled below. Together they lay out a brief, but very clear history of the personalities and strategies behind the major military conflicts of the Civil War.

A Tale of Two Mays in Wartime: What a Difference a Year Makes

Another Tale of May: Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign

Grant and Lee

From Beaver Dam Creek to Antietam: Lee’s Virginia-Maryland Campaign of 1862

Lee’s Invasion of Pennsylvania

From Stones River to Chattanooga

Gettysburg: The Controversies

Opening the Gateway to Victory: The 1862 Campaigns in the West

The Campaign for Atlanta

Petersburg to Appomattox

From Atlanta to Durham Station and Spring Hill to Nashville

The Virginia Overland Campaign of 1864: From the Wilderness to the Gates of Petersburg