NF Standard Civil War Reference Works

Non-Fiction

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Boatner, Mark Mayo III. The Civil War Dictionary.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0679733922/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

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Dyer, Frederick Henry. Compendium of the War of the Rebellion.
Free Google Ebook: http://books.google.com/books/about/A_compendium_of_the_War_of_the_Rebellion.html?id=OBkNAQAAMAAJ

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Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1439148848/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

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Long, E.B. and Barbara. The Civil War Day By Day: An Almanac, 1861-1865.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0306802554/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

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U.S. War Department. The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0760750440/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

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Wiley, Bell Irvin. The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0807133256/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

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Wiley, Bell Irvin. The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0807133752/?tag=civilwartalkc-20
 
Embattled Courage by Gerald F. Lindermann. It's an excellent study of the evolution of the fighting man in the ACW, from the raw recruits to the hardened veterans. It also deals with post-war mythology.
 
Bierce, Ambrose, Civil War Stories, Dover Publications, 1994. Fiction by a man that was there.

Bilby, Joseph G., Civil War Firearms, Combined Books, 1996. Superb overview.

Billings, John D, Hard Tack and Coffee, Konecky & Konecky, 1888. A first hand account from the perspective of a common arty soldier.

Bircher, William, A Drummer-Boy’s Diary, North Star Press, 1889. Another first hand account from a drummer boy, not as common as you'd think to find.

Carter, Samuel, The Siege of Atlanta, 1864, Bonanza Books. A good overview of the battle.

Catton, Bruce, Picture History of The Civil War, American Heritage, 1960. You just can't go wrong w/ this.

Coates, Earl J. & Thomas, Dean S., An Introduction to Civil War Small Arms, Thomas Publications, 1990. The best $10 I've ever spent on a book.

Coburn, Mark, Terrible Innocence General Sherman At War, Hippocrene Books, 1993. A look at Sherman.

Coggins, Jack, Arms and Equipment of the Civil War, Bradfoot Publishing, 1962. A description of the equipment of the war.

Cooke, Chauncy H., Soldier Boy’s Letters, Rainbow Press, 1939. Another first hand account that I rather enjoy.

Desjardin, Thomas A. These Honored Dead, Da Capo Press, 2003. A look at how history is made.

Dew, Charles B., Apostles of Disunion, University Press of Virginia, 2001. A look at what was going on in the CS prior to the start of the war.

Edwards, William B., Civil War Guns, The Stackpole Company, 1962. The seminal work upon which all others are judged.

Freeman, Douglas Southall, Lee’s Lieutenants, Simon & Schuster, Inc, 1998. Superb... nuff said.

Fuller, Claud E., The Rifled Musket, The Stackpole Company, 1958. Edwards predecessor...

Gallagher, Gary W., Causes Won,Lost & Forgotten, UNC Press, 2008. An interesting read on how myths are made and history distorted.

Gates, Paul W., Agriculture and the Civil War, Borzoi Book, 1962. Vital for understanding how agriculture effected and changed the war.

Glatthaar, Joseph T., Forged in Battle The Civil War Alliance of Black Soldiers and White Officers, The Free Press, 1990. A must read to understand the men of the USCT and their impact.

Glatthaar, Joseph T., The March to the Sea and Beyond, New York University Press, 1985. Short and well researched, a must read if interested in the subject.

Government Printing Office, Revised US Army Regulations 1863, Government Printing Office, 1863. The rules according to the Army... gives context to some things.

Griffith, Paddy, Battle In the Civil War Generalship and Tactics in America 1861-65, Fieldbooks, 1986. Want to understand how the military worked, you need to read this and the next.

Griffith, Paddy, Battle Tactics of the Civil War, Yale University Press, 2001. See above.

Hazlett, James C., Olmstead, Edwin, Parks, M. Hume, Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War, University of Illinois Press, 2004. A look at the arty in use by both sides.

Hess, Earl J., The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat Reality and Myth, University Press of Kansas, 2008. The title says it all.

Hitchcock, Henry, Marching with Sherman, University of Nebraska Press, 1995. A man who was there, a bit naïve at times I think but a look at the war that is overlooked.

Jacobs, Harriet, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Dover, 2001. Slavery as it was.

Johnson, Mark W. That Body of Brave Men, Da Capo Press, 2003. The Regular Army in the West, an absolute must read.

Levine, Bruce, Confederate Emancipation, Oxford, 2006. The reality on the subject.

McAulay, John D., Rifles of the U.S. Army 1861-1906, Andrew Mowbray Publishers, 2003. See the title, says it all.

McLaurin, Melton A., Celia, A Slave, Avon Books, 1991. Another look at the reality of slavery.

Newton, Steven H. Lost for the Cause the Confederate Army of 1864, Savas Publishing Company, 2000. A look at the numbers... lots of numbers.

Phisterer, Frederick, Campaigns of the Civil War Supplementary Volume Statistical Record of the Armies of the United States, Castle Books, 2002. A useful quick reference.

Reilly, Robert M., United States Military Small Arms 1816-1865, Eagle Press, 1970. A bit dated but priceless.

Rhodes, Elisha Hunt, All for the Union, Orion Books, 1985.Another first hand account.

Sherman, William T., Memoirs of William T Sherman, DeCapo Press1984. Not nearly as self serving as many, second only to Grant's Memoirs IMO..

Sword, Wiley, Mountains Touched With Fire, St Martins Press, 1995. A superb look at a campaign.

Thomas, Dean S., Cannons An Introduction to Civil War Artillery, Thomas Publications, 1994. A good primer.

Todd, Frederick P., American Military Equipage 1850-1872 vol 2, Company of Military Historians, 1977. Hard to get but excellent.

Todd, Frederick P., American Military Equipage 1850-1872 vol 3, Company of Military Historians, 1977. See above.

Troiani, Don, Don Troiani’s Civil War, Stackpole Books, 1995. Excellent visuals, better than any other by far.

Troiani, Don, Regiments & Uniforms of the Civil War, Stackpole Books, 2002.
Troiani, Don, Soldiers in America 1754-1865, Stackpole Books, 1998. See above... twice.

Trudeau, Noah Andre, Like Men of War, Little Brown & Company, 1998. Another splendid look at the USCT.

Trudeau, Noah Andre, Southern Storm Sherman’s March to the Sea, Harpers Collins Publishing, 2008. Somewhat lacking but a good look at what happened.

Watkins, Sam R., “Co Aytch” A Side Show of the Big Show, 1962. Another excellent first hand account, embellishments and all.

Whisker, James A., Hartzler, Daniel D. & Yantz, Larry W., Firearms from Europe, Tom Rowe Books, 2002. A good detailed look at what came over from the continent.

Wiley, Bell Irvin, The Life of Billy Yank, Louisiana State University Press, 1978. Mentioned already but a must read.

Wiley, Bell Irvin, The Life of Johnny Reb, Louisiana State University Press, 1978. See above.

Wills, Brian Steele, A Battle From The Start The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest, Harper Collins, 1992. A good read on a brilliant man.

Woodhead, Henry, Echoes of Glory Arms and Equipment of the Confederacy, Time Life Books, 1996. If you don't have it, you should.

Woodhead, Henry, Echoes of Glory Arms and Equipment of the Union, Time Life Books, 1996. See above.

Woodworth, Steven E., Nothing but Victory The Army of the Tennessee, Knoph, 2005. A look at what went into the best Army of the War.

Yee, Gary, Sharpshooters 1750-1900, Sharpshooter Press, 2009. Heavy reading but worth it for what it tells, the reality vs the mythos.
 
To add to the respective list suggested by Mike Kendra & Johan Steele:

E. Porter Alexander - Military Memoirs of a Confederate & Fighting For the Confederacy (excellent memoir and second only to U. S. Grant. Fighting or the Confederacy was not meant for publication. It was Alexander's personal book for his family. It is a very worthy companion to his first work.)

Bruce Allardice - More Generals in Gray

Henry Steele Commager - The Blue & The Gray

Naval History Division - Civil War Naval Chronology

Charles Dornbusch - Military Biography of the Civil War (Any serious researcher should begin here)

Peter Cozzens & Robert Girardi - The New Annals of the Civil War

Patrica Faust - The Illustrated Encylopedia of the Civil War

U. S. Grant - Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant (for me this is the best memoir of the Civil War)

Joseph Glatthaar - General Lee's Army & Forged in Battle & The March to the Sea and Beyond

Patricia Long - Civil War Day by Day

James McPherson - Battle Cry of Freedom & For Cause & Comrade

Chandra Manning - What This Cruel War was Over

Robert Underwood Johnson, Battles & Leaders, Vol 1-4

Alexander McClure - Annals of the War

Brent Nosworthy - Roll Call of Destiny & The Bloody Crucible of Courage

Ezra Warner - Generals in Blue & Generals in Gray
 
Good lists ya'll !

Here's a few I consider very good reads:

Potter, David M. The Impending Crisis 1848-1861. (1976)
excellent work on the causes of the war

Farrow, Anne, Joel Lang, and Jenifer Frank. Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery. (2005)
the only work I know of that addresses the topic in detail

Faust, Drew Gilpin. This Republic of Suffering: Death And The American Civil War. (2008)
excellent work on how the massive casualties of the war changed views of death

Wise, Stephen R. Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running During the Civil War. (1991)
I think the best single work on the subject

Current, Richard N. Lincoln And The First Shot. (1963).
excellent little book about Ft. Sumter and the events leading up to the shooting

edited to add:

Randall, James G. Constitutional Problems Under Lincoln. (1926).
the classic on the subject: secession, war powers, confiscation, conscription, emancipation, the courts, habeas corpus, the press, West Virginia - it's all spelled out and is surprisingly clear even if the language is a bit dated in places.

Symonds, Craig L. A Battlefield Atlas Of The Civil War. (1994).
excellent, compact collection of battle maps and summaries for all the major battles and campaigns.

Any of the books by William A. Frassanito. He is the world's expert on Civil War photography.
 
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Boatner obviously has lots of useful information, but it always has too many factual errors to be totally reliable. It also needs to be updated.
 
I am glad to see Chandra Manning's work mentioned twice. I think it is an exceptionally good book, really well grounded in historical data often overlooked. If anybody else has read it, I'd like to know what they think...
 
Nice thread Mike. You could have almost made several of these threads. I collect books and have quite a few bibliographies for reference. Someone who collects weapons or long arms etc would have a whole different collection of reference books. Battles, women, the list goes on and on. That's what is unique about the Civil War, there are so many aspects of the war to study which offers many a chance to specialize in one area.
 
Though there are many books I'd love to recommend, I'll try to honor the OP by sticking only to reference works -- and of those on my own reference shelf, all have already been listed above except:


Library of America's Lincoln: Speeches and Writings, 1832-1858 and Lincoln: Speeches and Writings, 1859-1865

Bruce Catton's 3-volume set on the Civil War and his 3-volume set on the Army of the Potomac

Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative (3-volume set)

Allen Guelzo's Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction

Theodore Dwight Weld's American Slavery As It Is, Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses (first published in 1839, consisting largely of newspaper ads, letters, notices, words from the slaveowners' own mouths -- much of which was reproduced later in Harriet Beecher Stowe's reference work, A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin)
 
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"Matthew Brady's Illustrated History of the Civil War". by Benson J. Lossing LL.D.

" They Fought for the Union" by Francis A. Lord
 
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Gordon Rhea's series on the Overland Campaign and Peter Cozzens series on Chattanooga.
 
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