America's Civil War Class Sessions
History 393
Advent Semester 2026
Professor John C. Willis

August 27
Re-Imagining North and South
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Staunton (Va.) Vindicator, 30 November 1860
September 1
American Contexts
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 3-46
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William Lloyd Garrison, "The Liberator"
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Alexis de Tocqueville, from Democracy in America:
September 3
Disputes and Compromises
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 47-116
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U.S. Grant, Causes of the Mexican War
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Abraham Lincoln, "Spot Resolutions"
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Alexander H. Stephens, "The Honor of This Country"
September 8
Unexpected Tensions
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 117-153
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Charles Sumner, "The Crime Against Kansas"
September 10
A House Dividing
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 153-201
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Albany (N.Y.) Evening Journal, 24 May 1856
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Springfield Illinois State Register, 26 May 1856
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Charleston (S.C.) Mercury, 28 May 1856
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Louisville (Ky.) Journal, 28 May 1856
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Richmond (Va.) Whig, 31 May 1856
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James Henry Hammond, "Cotton is King"
September 15
Elections of 1860
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 202-233
September 17
The First Wave of Secession
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 234-252
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South Carolina, "The Immediate Causes of Secession"
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Staunton (Va.) Spectator, 13 November 1860
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Staunton (Va.) Spectator, 27 November 1860
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Staunton (Va.) Vindicator, 30 November 1860
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Alexander H. Stephens, "Let us, therefore, reason together"
September 22
Complications of the Secession Winter and Spring
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Apostles of Disunion
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 252-264
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John Crittenden, Compromise Proposal, December 1860
September 24
The Realities of Division
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 264-307
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Alexander H. Stephens, "Cornerstone Speech"
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Jefferson Davis, "Our Cause is Just"
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Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address
September 29
First mid–term examination
October 1
Amateurs Go To War
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 308-350
October 6
U. S. Grant and the War in the West
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 392-422
October 8
Lee's Second Chance
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 423-427; 454-489
October 13
The Lessons of Antietam
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 533-545; 557-567
October 15
Along Three Rivers in the Winter of 1862-1863
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 568-590
October 20
Internal Resistance
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 591-625
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Nathaniel Hawthorne, "Chiefly about War Matters"
October 22
Fall Break
October 27
The Vicksburg Campaign
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 626-638
October 29
At the Height of the Offensive-Defensive
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 638-665
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Robert E. Lee, General Orders, No. 73
November 3
Gettysburg's Planned Battles and Aftermath
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 638-665
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Lee and His Generals, pp. 47-76
November 5
Middle Tennessee & the Battles for Chattanooga
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 666-688
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Tullahoma Campaign, 24 June-3 July 1863
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Battles for Chattanooga, November 1863
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Battle of Lookout Mountain, 24 November 1863
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Battle of Missionary Ridge, 4 p.m., 25 November 1863
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Battle of Missionary Ridge, 5 p.m., 25 November 1863
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• Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
November 10
Second mid–term examination
November 12
Grant and Lee, 1864
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 718-743
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Lee and His Generals, pp. 77–98
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U.S. Grant, Meeting President Lincoln
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U.S. Grant, Command of the Army of the Potomac
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U.S. Grant, Plans for the 1864 Campaign
November 17
The Atlanta Campaign & Elections of 1864
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 743-750; 751-773; 803-806
November 19
In "Union Territory"
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 807-830
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W. T. Sherman, Special Field Orders, No. 120
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W. T. Sherman, Special Field Orders, No. 15, [1865]
November 24 & 26
Thanksgiving holiday
December 1
Confederate Collapse
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 831-844
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Charleston (S.C.) Mercury, 13 January 1865
December 3
The South's War at Home
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Mothers of Invention
December 8
Concluding Complications
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 844-852
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W.T. Sherman, First Agreement...., 18 April 1865
December 10
War's Remembrance
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Battle Cry of Freedom, pp. 853-862
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Lee and His Generals, pp. 199–226
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Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address, 1865
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Robert E. Lee, "Farewell to Army of Northern Virginia"
December 13