These podcasts are of a series of novels written by Joseph A Altsheler about the American Civil War.
On April 11, 1861, the forces of General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, former Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point and now a General in the Army of the Confederate States, fired upon the Union forces at Fort Sumter. Thus began the American Civil War, also called War Between the States. In the North, it was called the Great Rebellion or the War of the Rebellion. In the South, it was the War for Southern Independence.
Its impact was enormous. Over 10,000 military engagements. More than 600,000 were killed and over 1,000,000 were wouned. This out of a country of about 31 million people. A generation of men, wounded and mained. A section of the country ravaged.
Cities and places would be remembered long afterward for the bloody fighting, horror and bravery seen there. Cities named Antietam, Chancellorsville, Shiloh, Gettysburg and so many others. Places known as the Wheatfield, the Bloody Angle, Devil'd Den, the Bloody Lane, the Hornet's Nest.
As a result of the war, the constitutional question regarding the position of States within the Union was settled: the Union was sovereign. In addition, 4,000,000 slaves were now free, owning little but their freedom. Gone was the old South. The face of America was changed irrevocably.
On this site you will find serialized audio books written about that time and its events.
There are numerous sites that provide information about the Civil War. A starting place for those looking for a good synopsis is the Wikipedia article American Civil War .
For information about Joseph A. Altsheler, check Wikipedia Article about Altsheler