To share your reaction on this item, open the Amazon app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone.

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Civil War Barons: The Tycoons, Entrepreneurs, Inventors, and Visionaries Who Forged Victory and Shaped a Nation Kindle Edition

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 88 ratings

Great on Kindle
Great Experience. Great Value.
iphone with kindle app
Putting our best book forward
Each Great on Kindle book offers a great reading experience, at a better value than print to keep your wallet happy.

Explore your book, then jump right back to where you left off with Page Flip.

View high quality images that let you zoom in to take a closer look.

Enjoy features only possible in digital – start reading right away, carry your library with you, adjust the font, create shareable notes and highlights, and more.

Discover additional details about the events, people, and places in your book, with Wikipedia integration.

Get the free Kindle app: Link to the kindle app page Link to the kindle app page
Enjoy a great reading experience when you buy the Kindle edition of this book. Learn more about Great on Kindle, available in select categories.
Before the robber barons there were Civil War barons--a remarkable yet largely unknown group of men whose contributions won the war and shaped America's future.

The Civil War woke a sleeping giant in America, creating unprecedented industrial growth that not only supported the struggle but reshaped the nation.

Energized by the country's dormant potential and wealth of natural resources, individuals of vision, organizational talent, and capital took advantage of the opportunity that war provided. Their innovations sustained Union troops, affected military strategy and tactics, and made the killing fields even deadlier. Their ranks included men such as:

John Deere, whose plows helped feed large armies

Gail Borden, whose condensed milk nourished the Union army

The Studebaker Brothers, whose wagons moved war supplies from home front to war front

Robert Parrott, whose rifled cannon was deployed on countless battlefields.

and many others.

Individually, these men came to dominate industry and amass great wealth and power; collectively, they helped save the Union and refashion the economic fabric of a nation.

Utilizing extensive research in manuscript collections, company records, and contemporary newspapers, historian Jeffry D. Wert casts a revealing light on the individuals most responsible for bringing the United States into the modern age.
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Jeffry Wert has brought his inimitable style and verve to the story of the key individuals who helped mobilize the resources through entrepreneurship, invention, and innovation necessary to win the Civil War for the Union."--Brian S. Wills, author of Inglorious Passages


"Jeffry Wert has done all of us a great service.
Civil War Barons conveys the story about those who helped forge our American Civil War. All of those profiled here had a profound impact not only on the war itself but our lives today. Civil War Barons illustrates why the war is relevant even after more than 150 years."--Wayne E. Motts, CEO of The National Civil War Museum


"
Civil War Barons will be long regarded as a must-read for historians and enthusiasts alike. Each chapter chronicles the genius and determination of a handful of individuals who changed forever the way wars were fought; saved the Union; and sparked the industrial might of twentieth-century America. To read Wert's book is to understand the war and its outcome like never before."--Keven Walker, CEO at Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation


"Diverse character studies that give a broad view of the sweeping economic revolutions of the era."―
Kirkus

"Wert's skill in weaving together historical argument and satisfying narrative are on full display in
Civil War Barons."―The Civil War Monitor

About the Author

Jeffry D. Wert is the award-winning author of nine previous books on Civil War topics, including Cavalryman of the Lost Cause and A Glorious Army. His articles and essays on the Civil War have appeared in many publications, including Civil War News, Civil War Times Illustrated, American History Illustrated, and Blue and Gray. A former history teacher at Penns Valley High School, he lives in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07B8M9D6V
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo; Illustrated edition (November 6, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 6, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 48000 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 225 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 88 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Jeffry D. Wert
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
88 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers

Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and useful for understanding the history of the barons. They appreciate the detailed stories about their contributions to economic growth in America during the last half of the 19th century. The research is superb and the book is readable.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
10 customers mention "Interest"10 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and informative. It provides useful background for understanding the history of the era. Readers appreciate the detailed stories of the barons' contributions to economic growth. The profiles are interesting and provide good information on various entrepreneurs in the antebellum and Civil War eras.

"very interesting, shows how modern american industry was shaped by the Civil War, it was an age of innovation" Read more

"...It provides some useful background for those who want to understand the history of the era and the industrialization of America...." Read more

"Given as gift to history buff specializing in Civil War. The book was very inciteful...." Read more

"The topic of Civil War Barons is an interesting one...." Read more

5 customers mention "Readability"5 positive0 negative

Customers like the book.

"...I could not have done a better job if I picked or wrote it myself. Very good. Affordable." Read more

"I liked the book, and though there were some who profited from the war(tremendously), it’s nice to know that some helped for the right reason" Read more

"Good Book though didn't hold my attention very well." Read more

"This was a thoroughly enjoyable read about a remarkable confluence of American industrial and entrepreneurial genius during the civil war era." Read more

Jeffry Wert Finds Victory Behind the Lines
5 out of 5 stars
Jeffry Wert Finds Victory Behind the Lines
I’ve gotta be honest, up until a few years ago, I had never considered topics such as finance, entrepreneurial activity, or technological advancement all that sexy - at least when applied to Civil War history. I acknowledged that the topics were important…just kinda dull - to me anyway.But…When I introduced my students to a year-long advanced course in Civil War and Reconstruction studies, I changed my tune. Of course I knew that there was a profound connection between what happened on the battlefield and what unfolded behind the scenes - indeed…it’s a central theme of my course. But after digging a little deeper and directing students’ research projects that focused on topics ranging from the raising of money to suppress rebellion and inspire patriotism to cool Civil War era inventions I began to take a much greater interest. Hell…maybe I was getting caught up in my own students’ enthusiasm, but whatever - I actually started to find these topics exciting.Enter Civil War Barons. What I particularly love about this book is that it quite perfectly serves as a doorway through which many a debate could ensue. For example: I have been critical in the past of the idea that abundance in resources guaranteed Union victory - as is oft-mentioned by folks as renowned as the late novelist Shelby Foote. Oh sure, Union resources in the form of industrial capacity, manpower, and raw materials far outweighed those of the Confederacy, but…it took imagination and ingenuity to bring those resources to bear on the enemy. Wert’s Isoroku Yamamoto-esque “sleeping giant” metaphor certainly works, but only because he couples it with a review of the individuals who had the determination and the foresight to use what they had before them. Numbers counters should take note - Union victory took vision, not just stuff.Wert’s book also helps the reader better understand the emergence of the United States as a modern (and dominant) world economy. Investment, invention, and industrialization - foreshadowing a post-war Yankee behemoth - take center stage here as Wert details the contributions of such individuals as John Deere, Cyrus McCormick, James B. Eads, Robert B. Parrott, Collis P. Huntington, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Cooke, and many others. Wert convincingly argues that these men, binding themselves to the cause of Union, did as much to win the war for the United States as any uniformed soldier in the ranks.Of course it would be silly to suggest that actors behind the lines were solely responsible for Union victory. After all, as George Pickett once said…“I think the Union Army had something to do with it.” But economic or industrial determinism is not Wert’s intention. Rather, he shows - with great style and concise argumentation, that in the Civil War a victorious force of arms extended beyond the military. Victory, in this case, rested with superior military leadership and the entrepreneurial, mechanical, and financial creations of those civilians who had a vested - and patriotic - interest in the Union cause.This latest of Jeffry Wert’s many volumes on the Civil War is well worth the read. My guess is that it will pique your interest to read beyond this single work. At the very least, it will broaden your understanding of the landscape of war. Get it - read it - and talk to me in the comments.With compliments,Keith
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2024
    very interesting, shows how modern american industry was shaped by the Civil War, it was an age of innovation
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2019
    A lot of good information on various entrepreneurs in the antebellum and Civil War era. The chapters have somewhat contrived labels - administrators, inventors, improvisers, patriots, etc. - as the individuals profiled could have been put in multiple categories. Still, it gives some semblance of organization that is as good as any other. Each chapter profiles two key men who built successful businesses leading up to the Civil War, and then how those businesses impacted the ability of the Union to win the war. The Studebaker brothers, for example, became huge wagon makers, thousands of which were needed in the Union supply chains. Others profiled include Jay Cooke, Henry Burden, James Eads, and Robert Parrott, along with more familiar names like Christopher Spencer (repeating rifles), Edward Squibb (pharmaceuticals), Cyrus McCormick (reapers), Andrew Carnegie, John Deere, Gail Borden (condensed milk), Philip Armour (canned meats), Frederick Weyerhaeuser, and Cornelius Vanderbilt.

    Overall, the book is well written and the profiles are interesting. It provides some useful background for those who want to understand the history of the era and the industrialization of America. While some may have southern roots, all of those profiled built their businesses in the North prior to the war and grew because of it. This isn't surprising because the northern free-labor states were focused on improving and developing while the southern slave-labor states were focused on maintaining an agricultural economy.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2019
    Given as gift to history buff specializing in Civil War. The book was very inciteful. I could not have done a better job if I picked or wrote it myself. Very good. Affordable.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 23, 2020
    The topic of Civil War Barons is an interesting one. The book includes 19 individuals and, as the author explains, the reader may not be familiar with ten while the other nine individuals are well known. As might be expected when an author is providing short biographies, some are more robust than others.

    My problem with the book is the organization. The Prologue provides a sound beginning with a history of the period. Chapter One (titled “Sturrings”) provides a good background about the needs the barons will fulfill. Chapter 2 discusses two individuals but does not separate them into distinct sections. It was confusing. Chapter 3 primarily discusses one individual with whom I was not familiar but who was very interesting.

    Chapters 4-11 have a definite structure but it is one that is difficult to follow. Each chapter includes biographies of two men, but it is divided into four parts. The first part is about the pre-civil war activity of first individual, the second part is about the pre-civil war activity of the second individual, the third part is about the civil war activity of the first individual and the fourth part is about the civil war activity of the second individual. The author discusses post-civil war activity in an entirely different chapter, called a Postscript. I see no reason why the author did not discuss everything about each individual in one place and provide the reader with smooth transitions. His organization is confusing. The table of contents provides chapter titles. It also should have included the names of the individuals discussed in that chapter so readers can choose if they wish to do so.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019
    I liked the book, and though there were some who profited from the war(tremendously), it’s nice to know that some helped for the right reason
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2018
    Superb research. I knew about only a few of the barons. Detailed stories of their contributions to the economic growth of America during the last half of the 19th Century and the role of the government growth. Learn about Ed Squibb, and Gail Borden.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2019
    Loved the individual info on each persons history, I really learned a lot, yet it wasn’t boring or dry. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys American history and how this country evolved.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2020
    Well written well researched. A look at the economic side of the Civil War where the Union enjoyed such an advantage. A must read for anyone interested in the history of the war.

Top reviews from other countries

  • satprof
    5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed biographies of several people who had a major impact on the US Civil War
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2020
    A typical Brit, my understanding of the US Civil War was negligible. In relating the lives of these individuals, much Civil War history is told along the way; this is in addition to the fascinating lives they led. Much recommended.

Report an issue


Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?