NF Books You Wish Were Written

Non-Fiction

OldReliable1862

First Sergeant
Joined
Jul 2, 2017
Location
Georgia
We're living in an interesting time for Civil War scholarship - whereas a few decades ago we were trying to tell people what the Army of Tennessee was, now we have whole studies of narrow aspects of once-obscure topics. However, there are always areas where we wish we could learn more, but just can't find much. What books do you want to read that haven't yet been published?

For me, I'd say we need:
- New biographies of Benjamin F. Cheatham, William B. Bate, Joseph B. Kershaw and Richard H. Anderson, at least;
- Unit histories for the Griffith-Barksdale-Humphreys, Lawton-Gordon-Evans, and Govan's Arkansas brigades
 
For me I would say:

1. Comprehensive books on the Trans-Mississippi- We have plenty, some are hit the ball out of the park awesome, some pretty dated with bad information in light of new information.

2. Red River Campaign- Speaking of number one....

3. The War in the Indian Territory- Very often neglected subject, there can't be enough books on this.

4. Confederate uniforms-We have awesome works by greats like Fred Adolphus, and good work by Don Troiani, but this something no one book can cover, we need more.

5. The War in Florida-Not much happened in comparison, but more books needed in my book.

6. Van Dorn at Corinth, and Davis Bridge-Not many books I know of written here.

7. Confederate manufactured artillery- We have many artillery books covering these guns, but its all in books covering guns in the war period, I think some books dedicated solely to Confederate designed, manufactured, and copies and where they went is badly needed. Its tough to find detailed information on those guns especially the model I've become taken with, the Tredegar M1862 2.25 in. Mountain Rifle.

8. New Mexico Campaign-Enough said I think.

I've mainly sidestepped biographies, because I think its about to the point on all the major players in the war one can trip over the amount of books on most of them.
 
The personal memoirs and recollections of Abraham Lincoln, before, during, and after his presidency.
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More on Sherman's investigation of Fort Pillow.

Red River Campaign needs more. Especially on Richard Taylor, Thomas Green, Alfred Mouton and their relationship to Kirby-Smith in diverting troops from Arkansas.

I second for more on the war in Florida. I just recently got a copy of Florida's Civil War by Mercer University Press, and all it really covers is the secession, the home front, some banditry down by the Keys, and then of course the Battle of Olustee in about 250 pages. The campaign that encompassed at Olustee was actually a very interesting focal point for how the war unfolded in the Gulf. And was itself the last major engagement of the 54th Mass.
 
Just to clarify: I am asking about books that could realistically written by historians today. It would be truly wonderful had men like Lee and Lincoln wrote their memoirs (for us and their contemporaries*), but that's really not our focus here.

*Interesting thing to speculate on: if Lee had exonerated Longstreet's actions in his memoirs and quashed the "Sunrise Attack" theory (as it seems he would have done), would the Lost Cause have been able to castigate him?
 
Which ones have you read?

None dedicated solely to it, they are not something commonly known. Most what I've read has come from books covering the whole war and so forth. The most detailed I've found is in memoirs, best one that comes to mind is "Footprints of a Regiment" by a man in the 1st Georgia Regulars. (Sorry I can't recall his name offhand, and I'm not feeling like hunting the book down in my library at the moment.)
 
A few. Something comprehensive on ' Civil War Nurses ' through the war. Not as boring as it sounds- they were all the heck all over the war, from front lines to hospitals, stories followed battles. We don't even have a clue how many perished in the war- neglected topic.

Teachers. Another massive movement about which there's nearly no information.

Sanitary Commission. It was an unfortunate name, 150 years later can make everyone's eyes glaze over. The size, scope and effectiveness along with impact on the war.
 
Diaries of Patrick Cleburne.

@JPK Huson 1863 - you might want to check out Prof. Libra Hilde's book: Worth a Dozen Men: Women and Nursing in Civil War South. The presence of females at hospitals raised morale of the wounded and improved the recovery rate.
A good study of Gaines's Mill (supposedly the younger Krick finally has a manuscript getting ready but nothing about a publisher yet that I've heard); a good study of Malvern Hill (supposedly Frank O'Reilly has one but, again, I've heard nothing about a publisher yet); and a good study of Fair Oaks/Seven Pines (an expanded/revised version of Steven Newton's thin but solid 1992 HE Howard book would do). We also need a modern bio of Hooker. Supposedly Marvel has a bio of Fitz John Porter in the works for UNC Press. A "prequel" to Eric W's excellent Union Cavalry Comes of Age covering the Union cavalry in the east, Peninsula through December 1862, would be nice. And a study of the artillery in the western Union armies (of the Tennessee, and of the Ohio/Cumberland) is essential.
 
5. The War in Florida-Not much happened in comparison, but more books needed in my book.
Two books I've been reading or still am reading: Florida In The Civil War: A State of Turmoil by Sandra Friend and Discovering the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide by Paul Taylor. The first is a good overview, nothing really in-depth but still helpful (for me at least) to understand Florida's role in the ACW and what action happened there. The second book is more detailed, each chapter a region or - in the case of Olustee - a battle. The chapters start with an overview, as a sort of introduction to the chapter's topic, then Taylor uses either reports from the O.R. or other contemporary sources for an in-depth description, often trying to cover both sides. The chapter closes with what can be seen/visited today. I quite like Taylor's book so far. :smile:
 
Two books I've been reading or still am reading: Florida In The Civil War: A State of Turmoil by Sandra Friend and Discovering the Civil War in Florida: A Reader and Guide by Paul Taylor. The first is a good overview, nothing really in-depth but still helpful (for me at least) to understand Florida's role in the ACW and what action happened there. The second book is more detailed, each chapter a region or - in the case of Olustee - a battle. The chapters start with an overview, as a sort of introduction to the chapter's topic, then Taylor uses either reports from the O.R. or other contemporary sources for an in-depth description, often trying to cover both sides. The chapter closes with what can be seen/visited today. I quite like Taylor's book so far. :smile:

Well I reckon that wish needs to be scratched from my original list! I'll have to look into War in Florida by the sounds of it.
 
Diaries of Patrick Cleburne.

@JPK Huson 1863 - you might want to check out Prof. Libra Hilde's book: Worth a Dozen Men: Women and Nursing in Civil War South. The presence of females at hospitals raised morale of the wounded and improved the recovery rate.


Thanks very much for the head's up! It's a great topic for a book and doesn't get a ton of attention. There was this huge, big deal over ( gasp ) allowing women into hospitals as nurses instead of men. OH the outrage! A lot of docs objected to the point of nastiness but it was too late. Women really cleaned things up, it makes sense they also improved recovery rates.

Interesting book- I just asked in another thread for more information on Southern hospital systems. This book might be very helpful.
 
@Jamieva gave you Greene's book and I would also recommend Ed Bearss' 2-volume work on the Petersburg Campaign and Siege.

Ryan
I would add John Horn's book, Richard Sommers' book, and Hampton Newsome's book. Those cover several of the offensives (August-October 1864) in pretty thorough tactical detail. Greene and Bearss are good at an operatiional level.
 
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