"The Confederacy looms large in the American past. True, the Confederate States of America lasted only four years - the four years of the Civil War (1861-1865) - and never amounted to an independent country except in the minds of its own people. It failed to gain membership in the family of nations. Foreign governments, such as the British and the French, recognized its belligerency but not its independence when they declared their neutrality and thereby granted the Confederacy the rights of a nation at war. Yet, brief and tenuous though its existence was, the Confederacy has great significance for the history of the United States. In asserting their independence, the Confederates brought to a head two great issues that had long divided Americans and that continue to do so - slavery and the relation of the states to the federal government. The question of the relationship of people of color to the white majority continues to be an urgent issue, as does the question of state rights. In losing their war for independence, the Confederates failed to establish either of the two principles on which they had based their nation-making effort...Those curious about the Confederacy have hitherto had no comprehensive reference work to which to turn as a convenient and reliable source of information on all aspects of the subject. [This work] is intended to meet that need. The work is directed not only to professional historians and history students but to everyone who ever has occasion to answer a question about the South during the period of 1861-1865." -- From the Preface.

Volume 1 : Adam-Curr -- volume 2 : Dahl-Loma -- volume 3 : Long-Shil -- volume 4 : Shin-Zoll, Index.