About This Book

A Lively Collection of Lesser-Known Civil War Stories Intended to Spark Debate About Our Received History of the War

Which over-arching decisions made by the Confederacy or Union had a greater effect on the course of the war than generally thought? Were there lauded command changes that may not have been as beneficial as presumed? How intertwined were the business aspirations on both sides of the conflict and what role did disinformation play in key battles? In Lee’s Lost Dispatch and Other Civil War Controversies, Philip Leigh presents twelve stories from these turbulent times that afford a better understanding of how the war unfolded and how it was fought. The stories range from the Union’s delayed introduction of repeating arms and why a commercial steamer and not a warship was sent to relieve Fort Sumter to how Robert E. Lee’s critical dispatch at the battle of Antietam may have been lost and whether Southern poverty is the most protracted legacy of the war. Written to promote discussion and debate, this volume will intrigue those who enjoy Civil War history and contemplating alternatives to many assumed conclusions.

Philip Leigh is the author of a number of books, including Southern Reconstruction and Trading with the Enemy: The Covert Economy During the American Civil War. From 2012 to 2015 he was a regular contributor to the New York Times Disunion Series, which commemorated the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. He has an engineering degree from the Florida Institute of Technology and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Praise for Lee’s Lost Dispatch:

“Well written and argued, and though you may not agree with all his conclusions, it is well worth reading. The books itself is well edited and layed out, and there are a number of maps to supplement the text.”—TOCWOC, A Civil War Blog