"The first Battle of Bull Run introduced citizens of this country to the draft, the effects of heavy artillery, and the emotional violence of fighting your neighbor for an uncertain cause. It tested the character of men who would later dominate the historical record : Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet, Irvin McDowell, and William T. Sherman. In the wake of the battle, the Union was forced to reconsider its strength and searched within its ranks for a scapegoat. David Detzer is the first historian to analyze the resulting Joint Committee on the Conduct of the Present War and thus the first to exonerate General Robert Patterson."-- From the book jacket.

Cast of Major Characters --Book 1. Plans and Illusions. -- Sacred Soil -- Untenable Position -- School of the Soldier -- Tentative Warriors -- To Carry the War into Africa -- Sonar -- Scapegoat -- Book 2. Bumping Heads. -- Jostling to the Starting Line -- Each Journey Begins with a Single Step -- First Blood -- Valley Boys -- Initial Inertia -- Stumbling -- En Garde -- Book 3. Agley. -- First Glimpse of the Elephant -- Carnage -- "Victory! Victory!" -- Intermezzo -- Building Stone Walls -- Take the High Ground -- Entropy -- End of the Day -- Vespers -- Envoi.