Books by William Marvel

Draws on original documents, diaries, and letters composed as the US Civil War unfolded to produce a clear and credible portrait of everyday life in Appomattox, as well as examining the galvanizing events of April 1865. The also scrutinizes Appomattox the national symbol, exposing and explaining some of the cherished myths surrounding the surrender there.

On June 19, 1864, the Confederate cruiser Alabama and the USS Kearsarge faced off in the English Channel outside the French port of Cherbourg. About an hour after the Alabama fired the first shot, it began to sink, and its crew was forced to wave the white flag of surrender. This title offers the stories of these two celebrated Civil War warships.

Few events in Civil War history have generated such deliberate myth-making as the retreat that ended at Appomattox. This book aims to show that during the final week of the war in Virginia, Lee's troops were more numerous yet far less faithful to their cause than has been suggested.

Between February 1864 and April 1865, 41,000 Union prisoners of war were taken to the stockade at Anderson Station, Georgia, where nearly 13,000 of them died. The author contends that virulent disease and severe shortages of vegetables, medical supplies, and other necessities combined to create a crisis beyond the captors' control.