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xi acknowledgments It is with great pleasure that I thank the people whose encouragement and assistance made it possible for me to bring this project to completion. First among these are the superb scholars and teachers under whose direction I had the honor and privilege to study history. Meeting Charles P. Poland, Jr., in the summer of 1987 was one of the turning points of my life, as his guidance and example transformed my interest in the American past into a passion and inspired me to make studying and teaching history a career. At George Mason University (GMU), Robert T. Hawkes, Jr., was an outstanding advisor and teacher; if I did not follow his path and make Southern history my major ¤eld, I nonetheless appreciate his keeping me from becoming overly ¤xated on the Civil War. Among my most vivid memories from my days at GMU is the crushing disappointment I felt whenever Joseph L. Harsh announced that his class on the Civil War and Reconstruction was over for the day. Dr. Harsh more than made up for this, however, by further stimulating and directing my interest in the Middle Period, encouraging me to do this study, and providing a model of scholarly professionalism. Finally, my doctoral advisor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Herman Hattaway, provided the sort of prodding , encouragement, friendship, guidance, and willingness to grant independence that were essential to completion of the dissertation that laid the foundation for this work. Working with him as a student and as a teaching assistant was a true honor and a privilege. I also thank David Atkinson, Robert Evanson, Eric and Kate Fair, Joseph Fitzharris, Cynthia Jones, Ronald Machoian , Doreen Maronde, Ben Martin, Sharon McDonald, Dennis Merrill, Patrick Peebles, Louis Potts, Joel Rhodes, Mark Snell, Michael Taylor, Julia Stepanenko, Jeff Wade, Michael Wilson, and William Young for all they did to make my “¤rst life” in the Kansas City area productive and pleasurable. xii acknowledgments During the two years it was my honor to serve on the faculty at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point I incurred debts that I can never fully repay. I thank Robert A. Doughty and Lance Betros for giving me the opportunity to teach at West Point and for all they and Matthew Moten did to make working in the USMA History Department, especially the Military Division, a great experience professionally and personally. Readers in the know recognize Samuel J. Watson as this generation’s unmatched authority on the antebellum army; to me, he was also a great of¤cemate, a model of teaching and scholarly excellence, a generous reviewer of my work, and a good friend. Like Sam, Clifford J. Rogers set high standards as a scholar, teacher, and colleague and was always ready to extend a much-appreciated helping hand as I strived to meet those standards. I am also grateful for the friendship and support I received from my colleagues in the “Tercio,” Charles Bowery, Jr., Charles Hallman, Matthew Morton, Michael Runey, and Gail Yoshitani, and our guides through New Instructor Training in 2001, Steven Delvaux, Paul Reese, and Christopher Prigge. Matt Morton and his family deserve special thanks for their friendship and their consistently going above and beyond to make my experience at West Point personally enriching. I could not have asked for a better “fellow traveler” in Civil War history than Charles Bowery, whose service as a sounding board for my ideas and a boon companion on expeditions to the battle¤elds was much appreciated. Like Sam and Charles, Dana Mangham helped make the staff rides to Civil War battle¤elds we collaborated on intellectually stimulating and fun experiences. Once again, I am grateful to Frank Martini for the excellent work he did on the maps that accompany the text. I also thank all of the outstanding cadets it was my honor and pleasure to work with; however, William Baker, Matthew Deurmeier, Joshua DeJournett (an award-winning scholar of the Civil War in his own right), Gregory Hope, Daniel Lawton, Andrew Webb, and Leah Wicks deserve special mention for their outstanding work and great humor on the staff rides of the Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania battle¤elds we did together in 2002 and 2003. My efforts to put the ¤nishing touches on the manuscript were greatly facilitated by the support and encouragement I received from my supervisors and colleagues at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. I am especially appreciative to Lawyn Edwards...

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