This book describes the antecedents and aftermath of a key campaign.This collection of seven original essays by leading Civil War historians reinterprets the bloody Fredericksburg campaign and places it within a broader social and political context. By analyzing the battle's antecedents as well as its aftermath, the contributors challenge long-held assumptions about the engagement and clarify our picture of the war as a whole. The contributors are William Marvel, Alan T. Nolan, Carol Reardon, Gary W. Gallagher, A. Wilson Greene, George C. Rable, and William A. Blair. The editor is Gary W. Gallagher.