This A-Z encyclopedia covers more Civil War figures in more detail than any other such reference. It includes more than 500 biographies of prominent men and women who played a part in the war, written by their contemporaries. The biographical portraits, enlivened by the authors' observations of the times in which they lived, provide a unique glimpse of this tumultuous era. Unlike other collections of Civil War biographies, the Encyclopedia covers the lives of its subjects in their entirety. it portrays the individuals' involvement in the Civil War more fully than other works, and it also provides detailed accounts of their lives before and after the war, including family backgrounds and business and professional careers, right up to the time of death.

Renowned American Civil War scholar James McPherson introduces, edits, and annotates this highly informative reference. Author of more than a dozen books on the Civil War era, McPherson received the Pulitzer Prize in History for his book Battle Cry of Freedom (1988) and the Lincoln Prize for For Cause and Comrades (1997).