Acclaimed historian Emory Thomas highlights the delusions that dominated each side's thinking at the beginning of the Civil War.

• Introduction


• Chapter 1: The Great Secession Winter in the American South


• Chapter 2: Conventional Wisdom in the North


• Chapter 3: Foundering Fathers: Confederate Leadership


• Chapter 4: War Fever in Washington


• Chapter 5: The Martial Moment: Fort Sumter in 1861


• Conclusion: "Cry, 'Havoc!'" Dogs Slipped

Emory M. Thomas is Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Georgia. His books include Robert E. Lee: A Biography, Bold Dragoon: The Life of J.E.B. Stuart, and The Confederate Nation, 1861-1865.