Never did so large a proportion of the American population leave home for an extended period and produce such a detailed record of its experiences in the form of correspondence, diaries, and other papers as during the Civil War. Based on research in more than 1,200 wartime letters and diaries by more than 400 Confederate officers and enlisted men, this book offers a compelling social history of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during its final year, from May 1864 to April 1865. Organized in a chronological framework, the book uses the words of the soldiers themselves to provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege -- from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front, the debate over arming black men in the Confederacy, and the causes of Confederate defeat. Remarkably rich and detailed, Lee's Miserables offers a fresh look at one of the most-studied Civil War armies. " Lee's Miserables is one of the finest works ever written on the Army of Northern Virginia and belongs on the bookshelf of anyone interested in that command or the Civil War's eastern theater." -- Civil War History "A book that marries scholarship and empathy. . . . Although he provides a lucid historical account of every battle, Power grounds these in the letters and diaries Lee's Miserables wrote at the time, the day of and the day after the fighting. The images they provide . . . are frighteningly immediate. . . . A classic Civil War study -- immensely useful to the historian, vigorous and enlightening to the common reader. It is a glimpse into the American soul: what is best and worst about us, our riches and griefs, discontents, yearnings, murderous urges, and abiding faith." -- Washington Post Book World "A compelling, gritty and utterly fascinating look at the army in its terrible and final year from May, 1864 to April, 1865. . . . The book also offers us a fresh and revealing look at the morale in the army, the debate surrounding the arming of black men in the Confederacy, and the causes of the Confederate defeat. This is a new and different way to view one of the most storied armies in history, and that story loses nothing in this telling." -- Bugle Call "A landmark book. . . . When the end came, the men of the Army of Northern Virginia passed into legend. Power's important study brings a large measure of reality back to their story." -- American History "A marvelous book. It will be read with relish by scholars and by buffs. It possesses an authenticity about war . . . that all will appreciate." -- Maryland Historical Magazine "An excellent study of life in the Army of Northern Virginia in the Civil War's final year. The result is an outstanding example of the new military history. . . . [Power's] very well-written book gives readers a you-are-there experience, and the final chapter is a superb historiographical overview of recent titles in the field." -- Library Journal "Exhaustively researched, and thoroughly documented, Lee's Miserables traces the human side of the war through the men who fought it and not through the historians' contemporary lens. It is a marvelous and, at times, an overwhelming volume as soldier after soldier speaks directly to the reader from his diary or letters. . . . A candid appraisal of one of the most famous armies in military history." -- Civil War Courier "Power has set a new standard, placed the bar a little higher in the study of a Civil War soldier's life. This great story of the final year in the life of the army of Northern Virginia is no longer scattered among numerous primary accounts but now awaits in the pages of Lee's Miserables ." -- Charleston Post and Courier "Power's research is voluminous and his conclusions sensible and thought-provoking. The result is a major and welcome addition to the literature of how armies are made and how they die." -- Steven E. Woodworth, Blue & Gray Education Society Newsletter "This excellent and readable study should be in all college libraries." -- CHOICE A vivid account of life in Lee?s army, based on over 1,200 letters and diaries written by Confederate soldiers J. Tracy Power is a historian with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Used Book in Good Condition