Book excerpt: No military unit in all the annals of American history exceeds in reputation Robert E. Lee’s illustrious Army of Northern Virginia. In ten chapters based on exhaustive research, esteemed Civil War scholar Robert K. Krick gives eloquent examination to aspects of this army ranging from biographical sketches and the best and worst books on the subject to Confederate troop strengths and locating soldier records. The Smoothbore Volley That Doomed the Confederacy gleams with Krick’s usual superior research, skilled writing, and sound analysis and sheds new light on one of the most popular Civil War subjects.