Railroads in the Civil War

This book argues that the mismanagement of logistics in the Civil War railroad movements contributed more significantly to Confederate defeat in the war than previously acknowledged. Presenting in-depth studies of the Longstreet and 11th and 12th Corps movements, Clark drives the point that as the war became longer, both sides had to adjust to the demands of an increasingly long-distance logistics-driven conflict. The Union, he argues, successfully marshaled its industrial base to serve the war effort and made especially good use of its railroads, whereas the Confederacy did not organize logistics effectively.