Description: The Civil War was the first conflict in which railroads played a major role. The Cumberland Valley Railroad's location enhanced its importance during some of the Civil War's most critical campaigns. The primary sources, combined with the expertise of the authors, bring this largely untold story to life.
Brief description: Cooper Wingert is the author of a dozen books and numerous articles on slavery and the American Civil War. His book The Confederate Approach on Harrisburg won the 2012 Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr. Literary Award for Confederate history. His other works include Slavery and the Underground Railroad in South Central Pennsylvania, Abolitionists of South Central Pennsylvania, and Harrisburg and the Civil War. Cooper has also written articles for Gettysburg Magazine and has appeared on C-SPAN Book TV and Pennsylvania Cable Network. Wingert received the Camp Curtin Historical Society's inaugural General Joseph F. Knipe Award in recognition for his research on the Harrisburg area during the Civil War. A Pennsylvania native, Wingert is currently a student at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
Review Quotes: A welcome and seminal work of meticulous scholarship and exhaustive research, "Targeted Tracks: The Cumberland Valley Railroad in the Civil War, 1861-1865" is an extraordinary and original study that will be an especially appreciated contribution to the growing library of American Civil War histories.-- "Midwest Book Review"