As the American Civil War recedes into the past, popular fascination continues to rise. Once a matter that chiefly concerned veterans, separately organized North and South, who gathered to refight old battles and to memorialize the heroes and victims of war, the Civil War has gradually become part of a collective heritage.

Issues raised by the war, including its causes and consequences, reverberate through contemporary society. Family and community connections with the war exist everywhere, as do battlefields, memorials, and other physical reminders of the conflict. We, as Americans, are fascinated by the sheer magnitude of the war fought over thousands of miles of American soil and resulting in awesome casualties. It was a gigantic national drama enacted by people who seem both contemporary and remote.

Here for the first time, leading Civil War scholars gather to sort out the fact and fiction of our collective memories. Contributors include Pulitzer Prize-winner Mark E. Neely, Jr., Alan T. Nolan, John Y. Simon, James I. "Bud" Robertson, Jr., Gary W. Gallagher, Joseph T. Glatthaar, and Ervin L. Jordan, Jr.

John Y. Simon is editor of the acclaimedPapers of Ulysses S. Grant, twenty volumes of which have been published since 1967. He is professor of history at Southern Illinois University and a founder and past president of the Association for Documentary Editing.Michael E. Stevens is state historian and director of public history at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. His most recent book isAs If It Were Glory: Robert Beecham's Civil War from the Iron Brigade to the Black Regiments.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 "Civilized Belligerents": Abraham Lincoln and the Idea of "Total War"
Chapter 3 ConsideringLee Considered: Robert E. Lee and the Lost Cause
Chapter 4 Forging a Commander: Ulysses S. Grant Enters the Civil War
Chapter 5 Stonewall Jackson: A "Pious, Blue-Eyed Killer?"
Chapter 6 From Antebellum Unionist to Lost Cause Warrior: The Personal Journey of Jubal A. Early
Chapter 7 The Common Soldier of the Civil War
Chapter 8 Mirrors beyond Memories: Afro-Virginians and the Civil War
Chapter 9 Contributors
Chapter 10 Index