ABOUT WORTHY OPPONENTS: William T. Sherman's burning of Atlanta helped reelect Abraham Lincoln. In contrast, if Confederate President Jefferson Davis had left Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, one of its most effective generals, in command of Atlanta's defenses, the city might have been preserved. Edward Longacre offers a new perspective on Sherman's and Johnston's military histories, including their clashes at Vicksburg, Kennesaw Mountain, and Bentonville, where they negotiated surrender terms. After the War they became friends, to such an extent that Johnston was a pallbearer at Sherman's 1891 funeral.



ABOUT MR. LINCOLN'S T-MAILS: The Civil War was the first "modern war." Because of the rapid changes in American society, Abraham Lincoln became president of a divided United States during a period of technological and social revolution. Among the many modern marvels that gave the North an advantage was the telegraph, which Lincoln used to stay connected to the forces in the field in almost real time.

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