Clayton R. Newell

Most civil wars do not spring up overnight, and the American Civil War was no exception. The seeds of the conflict were sown in the earliest days of the republic's founding, primarily over theexistence of slavery and the slave trade. Although no conflict can begin without the conscious decisions of those engaged in the debates at that moment, in the end, there was simply no way topaper over the division of the country into two camps: one that was dominated by slavery and the other that sought first to limit its spread and then to abolish it. Our nation was indeed "half slave and half free," and that could not stand. Regardless of the factors tearing the nation asunder, the soldiers on each side of the struggle went to war for personal reasons: looking for adventure, being caught up in the passionsand emotions of their peers, believing in the Union, favoring states' rights, or even justifying the simple schoolyard dynamic of being convinced that they were "worth" three of the soldierson the other side. Nor can we overlook the factor that some went to war to prove their manhood. This has been, and continues to be, a key dynamic in understanding combat and the professionof arms. Soldiers join for many reasons but often stay in the fight because of their comrades and because they do not want to seem like cowards. Sometimes issues of national impact shrinkto nothing in the intensely personal world of cannon shell and mini ball.

On the eve of the Civil War, the Regular Army of the United States was small, dispersed, untrained for large-scale operations, and woefully unprepared to suppress the rebellion of the secessionist states. Although the Regular Army expanded significantly during the war, reaching nearly sixty-seven thousand men, it was necessary to form an enormous army of state volunteers that overshadowed the Regulars and bore most of the combat burden. Nevertheless, the Regular Army played several critically important roles, notably providing leaders and exemplars for the Volunteers and managing the administration and logistics of the entire Union Army. In this first comprehensive study of the Regular Army in the Civil War, Clayton R. Newell and Charles R. Shrader focus primarily on the organizational history of the Regular Army and how it changed as an institution during the war, to emerge afterward as a reorganized and permanently expanded force. The eminent, award-winning military historian Edward M. Coffman provides a foreword.

Contrary to many assessments that immediately followed the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, that war was neither short nor decisive. The 1991 conflict was the dramatic manifestation of long-standing antagonisms among the principal participants, and its results continue to have a profound effect on the region, a fact that can be seen most clearly in the current U. S.-occupation of Iraq. It is therefore important to determine, on the diplomatic side, just how the war got started, how it was fought, and whether the dramatic ground campaign should have exceeded the mere hundred hours it lasted in order to bring about a more decisive conclusion. With the seemingly endless follow-up to the war continuing, The A to Z of the Persian Gulf War 1990-1991 draws together the results of assessments of the war by a multitude of commentators. This is accomplished through an introduction, a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, a bibliography, appendixes, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on many of the significant civilian and military persons, crucial diplomatic and political actions, as well as the essential military aspects, including the strategy and tactics, the encounters and battles, and the forces and weapons deployed by both sides. As the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate, this reference provides an important historical perspective on an increasingly critical issue.

Newell, himself with nearly three decades of service to the U. S. Army, provides readers with a brief introduction to the people and events that have made the U. S. Army the strongest military force in the world. The volume profiles the leaders and the accomplishments of the U. S. Army from the beginning of its 226-year history to the present. Entries include: o Top military and civilian leaders o Notable enemies o Logistics/weaponry o Significant wars Includes a listing of the army casualties by war, as well as lists detailing the total number of those who served in the army, the number of army battle deaths, as well as war injuries. Several appendices accompany the dictionary, covering topics such as the resolution of the Continental Congress adopting the Continental Army, the appointment of George Washington as Commander-in-Chief, and campaigns where the U. S. Army has been involved.