A wonderful selection of Civil War locations worth visiting. Each of these locations is described by an author for whom the location has a special meaning. These range from the Emancipation Tree in Hampton Roads, Virginia to Camp Gallagher, West Virginia (where Allegheny Johnson got his nickname) to Confederate Monuments in Charlottesville to an unknown burial pit on Culps Hill in Gettysburg. Many of these places were new to me and I have added them to my places to visit.

I was particularly struck by the essays of Dr. Gallagher on the Charlottesville Confederate Monuments and Dr. Carmichael on the unknown Maryland (Confederate) burial pit on Culp’s Hill in Gettysburg. In both cases, really excellent descriptions were provided of how these two professors used each of these sites to educate their students during on-site visits. In particular, Dr. Gallagher’s discussion of how Confederate Monuments enhance the education process and their removal should be carefully considered provided a perspective well worth contemplating.

This book is a collection of personal essays from leading historians of Civil War Places. Each essay is accompanied by a wonderful photograph by Will Gallagher. The essays cover many diverse places and each essay and perspective is unique. I really liked it that a lot of women were included. At the end of the book the photographer writes about how he photographed each place. This is a wonderful book to read and a beautiful book to look at. Enjoy

NetGalley provided me with this book. I've always appreciated Dr. Gallagher's scholarship and this collection of essays by him and other accomplished historians is no exception. I particularly enjoyed Stephen Berry's essay about the church at Shiloh, William Blair's essay about black denizens of Arlington National Cemetery, and Brenda Stevenson's deeply personal reflections about the Emancipation Oak. Will Gallagher's photos are excellent although I could have done without his closing thoughts, I thought the images stood well on their own.

I loved this book! The articles and the corresponding photographs really gave a glimpse into the Civil War. My kids and I loved looking over this book, even though the articles were over their heads, they enjoyed hearing about the different aspects.

I was a little disappointed that the license ran out so quickly for this one. I was not fully finished with it. Look forward to seeing an actual print copy so that I can get to the ending.