The Confederate Army 1861-65 (4): Virginia & Arkansas

Description

The common image of the Confederate Army during the Civil War is dominated by a limited number of early photographs of troops wearing the gray and butternut of the CS regulations and quartermaster issues. By contrast, this book examines the variety of uniforms worn by the Virginia and Arkansas militia and volunteers brought together in the Confederate field armies, and the continuing efforts to clothe them as wear-and-tear gradually reduced this wide range of uniforms. A mass of information from contemporary documents is illustrated with rare early photographs and meticulous color reconstructions.

Ron Field is Head of History at the Cotswold School in Bourton-on-the-Water. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship in 1982 and taught history at Piedmont High School in California from 1982-83. He was associate editor of the Confederate Historical Society of Great Britain, from 1983 to 1992. He is an internationally acknowledged expert on US military history, and was elected a Fellow of the Company of Military Historians, based in Washington. D.C., in 2005. Richard Hook was born in 1938 and trained at Reigate College of Art. After national service with 1st Bn, Queen's Royal Regiment, he became art editor of the much-praised magazine Finding Out during the 1960s. He has worked as a freelance illustrator ever since, earning an international reputation particularly for his deep knowledge of Native American material culture; and has illustrated more than 50 Osprey titles. Richard is married and lives in Sussex.

"What you will find in these pages are superb descriptions of these units/dress along with some unique photographs taken of some of the soldiers in their uniforms. This is further enhanced by the outstanding illustrations of Richard Hook which add some real color to these old greyscale images from the distant past. A book that rightly belongs on the shelf at any US Civil War enthusiast and one that provides a bit more insight into what is called the first modern war. Highly recommended." --Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com