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Title details for The Cannons Roar by Bruce Chadwick - Available

The Cannons Roar

Fort Sumter and the Start of the Civil War—An Oral History

by Bruce Chadwick
David Stifel
Audiobook
2 of 2 copies available
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2 of 2 copies available
On April 12, 1861, Confederate troops began firing on Fort Sumter, beginning the bloodiest conflict in American history. Since that time numerous historians have described the attack in many well-regarded books, yet the event still remains overlooked at times in the minds of the public.
The Cannons Roar seeks to remedy that. Rather than providing a third-person, after-the-fact description, acclaimed author Bruce Chadwick will tell the story of the attack from the people who were in the thick of it. The Cannons Roar will not only provide portraits of the major players, it will give voice to dozens of regular people from across the country and socioeconomic spectrum.
Using letters, newspaper articles, diaries, journals, and other written sources, Chadwick describes in vivid detail the events preceding the attack, the attack itself, and its aftermath. Collectively, listeners will obtain a fuller understanding of the politics and thinking of political and military leaders that influenced their decisions or lack thereof.
Combining traditional history with the in-the-moment ethos of an oral history, The Cannons Roar brings this historic moment in American history to new and vivid life.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 22, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798350868098
      • File size: 292864 KB
      • Duration: 10:10:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 6, 2023
      In this ingeniously constructed account, historian Chadwick (Law & Disorder) stitches together speeches, letters, diary entries, Cabinet meeting records, and more to recreate the Fort Sumter crisis as it unfolded. Though construction of the fort—located on an artificial island off the coast of Charleston, S.C.—commenced in 1814, it was still unfinished when South Carolina seceded in December 1860 and demanded that all federal forces—including the 85 men stationed at Sumter—leave the state. The tense standoff pitted Union Army major Robert Anderson against his friend and former West Point student, Confederate general P.G.T. Beauregard, who began positioning cannons for a bombardment of Sumter in March 1861. Among other sources, Chadwick excerpts Anderson’s letters to Union Army commanders pleading for reinforcements and supplies; the diary of Southern socialite Mary Chesnut; public and private statements by Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis; and Secretary of State William Seward’s messages to Confederate representatives falsely claiming that Fort Sumter would be evacuated, which invigorated the Southern cause. Though some perspectives feel more marginal than essential, they add up to a comprehensive study of the spark that set the Civil War aflame. It’s a noteworthy feat of scholarship.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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