Unabashed Confederate hagiography. I wouldn’t mind so much if the book included more about military affairs and battles, but there aren’t any detailed battle site tours; instead it’s grave sites of Confederate generals, houses where famous Confederates lived, and museums of Confederate memorabilia. I suppose there are people, not necessarily Lost Cause zealots, who might want to see where Stonewall Jackson’s arm is buried or the house of J.E.B. Stuart’s widow. But author Clint Johnson makes it pretty clear where his sympathies lie; we learn, for example, that the Confederate army included blacks – as servants and musicians – and thus was more “integrated” than the Union army.

The book departs from the Civil War theme to provide a tour of the Nat Turner rebellion area; Johnson claims that the fear of slave rebellions was one of the motivators of the Confederacy.

One surprising thing I did learn is John Singleton Mosby – the famous/infamous “Gray Ghost” partisan (see Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders) became “reconstructed”, becoming a personal friend of U.S. Grant and a Republican. Johnson describes this as a “mistake” and notes “an angry Virginian” shot at Mosby as a result.

As mentioned, not much in the way of battle descriptions. If you’re interested in automobile tours of Civil War country I’d recommend the Civil War Explorer series by Jim Miles (mostly out of print, alas). Miles is also a Southerner but his books are more balanced and less Confederate apologetics than this one.
No foot or endnotes. Lots of black and white pictures of houses, statues and gravestones. A bibliography; a good index. ( )

Have read only bits of this volume, finding locations mentioned in personal narrative of a Vermont soldier in the Army of the Potomac. Photos with captions, maps, and anecdotes explain the importance of each place. Haven't tried the driving directions, but inclusion of route numbers, road names, and landmarks sound very helpful. Good reference book.