Bruce Catton (1899-1978) grew up in the small northern Michigan town of Benzonia, listening to Union veterans tell stories of the Civil War. In addition to the Army of the Potomac trilogy he wrote another dozen books on the Civil War, including This Hallowed Ground: The Story of the Union Side of the Civil War (1956) and his three-volume Centennial History, The Coming Fury (1961), Terrible Swift Sword (1963), and Never Call Retreat (1965). Catton also served as the founding editor of American Heritage, 1954-59, and as its senior editor from 1959 until his death.

Gary W. Gallagher is the John L. Nau III Professor in the History of the American Civil War at the University of Virginia. The author or editor of numerous books, including The Union War and Becoming Confederates: Paths to a New National Loyalty, he has also participated in more than three dozen television projects.