Come with us to look at the military history of the American Civil War in 1863, with particular focus on the evolution of Northern and Southern strategy and the course, conduct and outcome of major operations. We'll address strategic and political contexts that shaped the great battles fought in Virginia, Tennessee and elsewhere, as well as look at the individuals, such as Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, William Rosecrans, Joseph Hooker, Thomas Jackson, Braxton Bragg, Robert E. Lee, William T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant, whose decisions and leadership shaped what proved to be a dramatic and transformative year in America's bloodiest war.

Instructor bio: Ethan S. Rafuse received his doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His publications include "Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy 1863-1865," essays in "The Chattanooga Campaign" and "The Chickamauga Campaign," and "U.S. Presidents During Wartime."

The great three-day Battle of Gettysburg has widely been seen as the American Civil War's turning point, the pivot on which the war and the fate of the republic turned. This course will look at the three days of battle at Gettysburg. We'll consider the great (and not so great) leaders, events and decisions that shaped its course, conduct and outcome, as well the larger campaign that carried the war north of the Potomac for the second time in less than a year. We'll also look at the battle's special place in the war's history, as well as that of the individuals and events that shaped its course and results.

Instructor bio: Ethan S. Rafuse received his doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. His publications include "Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy 1863-1865," essays in "The Chattanooga Campaign" and "The Chickamauga Campaign," and "U.S. Presidents During Wartime."