In 1861, many people believed the American Civil War would have one big battle and it would be over. Three years later those illusions had died along with hundreds of thousands of Americans—and the worst was yet to come. New   Union commanders would not retreat, no matter the cost. The South planned to make that cost so high Northern voters would reject Abraham Lincoln's re-election bid. This year, 1864, would be a year of unrelenting battle and destruction that would determine which side would ultimately prevail.

1864: The Year of Relentless War captures all the drama of that decisive year, using the words of those who experienced it, from common soldiers to the wife of the President of the Confederacy. Harold Holzer, renowned as a leading authority on Abraham Lincoln and the political culture of the Civil War, establishes context in an introduction written for this special publication. Created by the editors of Civil War Times, the most widely read magazine in its field, 1864: The Year of Relentless War features over 100 pages of first-hand accounts, maps, rare photos and illustrations, and expert analysis.

"It seemed more like a volcanic blast than a battle, and was about as destructive"—Capt. Asa W. Bartlett, 12th New Hampshire, Battle of Cold Harbor, June 1–3, 1864

Follow the armies of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee as they fight throughout that hot, blood-soaked summer in Virginia. Read the reactions of veteran soldiers to the carnage at The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the trenches around Richmond and Petersburg.

"The Heavens were in a perfect glow while the atmosphere seemed full of flaming rockets."—Mary Rawston, resident of Atlanta, Georgia, Sept. 1, 1864

Travel to the mountains of North Georgia as William Tecumseh Sherman and Joseph Johnson maneuver, each seeking a chance to strike a decisive blow against the other. Witness the destruction of Atlanta through the eyes of the city's civilian residents.

"We lost ten Genls killed & wounded. Genls Cleburne Granburry, Gist, Adams, Strahl & one more I forgotten were killed and four that were wounded."—Pvt. James A. McCord, 30th Georgia Infantry, Dec. 1, 1864, describing the Battle of Franklin, Tenn.

Sail into Mobile Bay with the men of Admiral David Farragut's fleet. March to the very gates of Washington with Jubal Early's Confederates. Stand with U.S. Colored Troops at Olustee, Florida, as they fight to prove their courage to their white counterparts. Learn of the plot to burn New York City.

1864: The Year of Relentless War captures the year's pivotal actions in an extensively illustrated format, through the words of those who witnessed America's year of decision. It belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the Civil War.

1864: The Year of Relentless War is the fourth in a special year-by-year series about the American Civil War. Purchase your copy at HISTORYNETSHOP.COM