Brigade Histories

[AUG]

I know I and many others here enjoy reading unit histories. There have been hundreds, if not thousands of regimental histories written over the years, but a fewer number of brigade histories. So here is a list of those I have either read or at least am aware of. If you know of any others please feel free to list them as well.


Union

The Iron Brigade: A Military History by Alan T. Nolan

The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory: The Black Hats from Bull Run to Appomattox and Thereafter by Lance Herdegen

The Irish Brigade In The Civil War: The 69th New York and Other Irish Regiments of The Army Of The Potomac by Joseph G. Bilby

Stopping Pickett: The History of the Philadelphia Brigade by Bradley M. Gottfried

Put the Vermonters Ahead: The First Vermont Brigade in the Civil War by George W. Parsons

Nine Months to Gettysburg: Stannard's Vermonters and the Repulse of Pickett's Charge by Howard Coffin

Lighting at Hoover's Gap: The Story of Wilder's Brigade by Glenn Sunderland


Confederate

Hood's Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacy's Most Celebrated Unit by Susannah J. Ural

Hood's Texas Brigade: Lee's Grenadier Guard by Colonel Harold B. Simpson

Hood's Texas Brigade in the Civil War by Edward B. Williams

Hood's Texas Brigade: Its Marches, Its Battles, Its Achievements by J. B. Polley (written by veteran)

This Band of Heroes: Granbury's Texas Brigade by James M. McCaffrey

Granbury's Texas Brigade: Diehard Western Confederates by John R. Lundberg

A Force to Be Reckoned With: A History of Granbury's Texas Infantry Brigade, 1861-1865 by Danny Sessums

Polignac's Texas Brigade by Alwyn Barr

Civil War in the Southwest: Recollections of the Sibley Brigade by Jerry Thompson

Donald S. Frazier's books on the New Mexico Campaign and the war in Texas and Louisiana also cover the history of the Sibley Brigade.

Frontier Horsemen of the Confederacy: Major's Texas Cavalry Brigade by James T. Matthews

Lone Star Regiments in Gray by Ralph A. Wooster (covers regiments by the brigade)

Lee's Tigers: The Louisiana Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia by Terry L. Jones

Lee's Tigers Revisited: The Louisiana Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia by Terry L. Jones (updated edition)

Louisianians in the Western Confederacy: The Adams-Gibson Brigade in the Civil War by Stuart Salling

Arkansas Confederates in the Western Theater by James Willis (first half of the book is a history of the 9th Arkansas Infantry, second half is a history D.H. Reynold's Arkansas Brigade)

In Deadly Earnest: The History of the First Missouri Brigade by Phil Gottschalk

The South's Finest: The First Missouri Confederate Brigade from Pea Ridge to Vicksburg by Phillip Thomas Tucker

Jo Shelby's Iron Brigade by Deryl Sellmeyer

The Orphan Brigade: The Kentucky Confederates Who Couldn't Go Home by William C. Davis

History of the Orphan Brigade by Edwin Porter Thomas (written by veteran)

By the Noble Daring of Her Sons: The Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee by Jonathan C. Sheppard

A Small Spartan Band: The Florida Brigade in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia by Zack C. Waters and James C. Edmonds

Law's Alabama Brigade in the War Between the Union and the Confederacy by J. Gary Laine and Morris M. Penny

General Lee's Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 by Michael C. Hardy

Lee's Tar Heels: The Pettigrew-Kirkland-McRae Brigade by Earl J. Hess

Clingman's Brigade in the Confederacy, 1862-1865 by Frances H. Casstevens

The Tennessee Brigade by Randy Bishop

The Stonewall Brigade by James I. Robertson

Lions of the Dan: The Untold Story of Armistead's Brigade by J.K. Brandau

A History of the Laurel Brigade: Originally the Ashby Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia and Chew's Battery by William N. McDonald

History of Kershaw's Brigade by D. Augustus Dickert (written by veteran)

The History of a Brigade of South Carolinians, known first "Greggs" and subsequently as "McGowan's Brigade" by J. F. J. Caldwell (written by veteran)

The Struck Eagle: A Biography of Brigadier General Micah Jenkins by James J. Baldwin III (also a history of the 5th South Carolina Infantry, Palmetto Sharpshooters, and Jenkins'/Bratton's South Carolina Brigade)

 

[Drew]

I've got family in some of these and would like to read them. Another that I like is Charles Lothrop's history of the 1st Iowa Cavalry.

The Red River Campaign from the perspective of a Northern cavalry regiment is really great. The real Truth Squad is the guys that were actually there and not modern historians.

It's free and online to anyone interested:

http://books.google.com/books?id=BxhCAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[AUG]

I've got family in some of these and would like to read them. Another that I like is Charles Lothrop's history of the 1st Iowa Cavalry.

The Red River Campaign from the perspective of a Northern cavalry regiment is really great. The real Truth Squad is the guys that were actually there and not modern historians.

It's free and online to anyone interested:

http://books.google.com/books?id=BxhCAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Postwar units histories written by veterans vary in quality. Some are very well done, but you have to take them with a grain of salt. Many contain historical inaccuracies, either because they were partially written from memory years after the war or due to lack of sources available at the time they were written.

Modern unit histories are better, IMO. Of course they vary in quality as well, but authors today have access to so much more information. As with almost any historical work, they are primarily written from the the words of those who were there, utilizing postwar unit histories by veterans, as well as memoirs, diaries, letters, etc., plus other research material that has been published since then. All of that combined makes for a much more historically accurate and detailed book.

 

[AUG]

Works on brigades in particular battles, or rather Gettysburg except three:

Those Damned Black Hats!: The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign by Lance Herdegen

The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863 by Scott Mingus

Struggle for the Round Tops: Law's Brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg by Morris M. Penny and J. Gary Laine

Barksdale's Charge: The True High Tide of the Confederacy at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863 by Phillip Thomas Tucker

Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried

Blue Lighting: Wilder's Mounted Infantry Brigade in the Battle of Chickamauga by Richard A. Baumgartner

The Vermont Brigade in the Seven Days: The Battles and Their Personal Aftermath by Paul G. Zeller

Texans at Antietam: A Terrible Clash of Arms, September 16-17, 1862 by Joe Owen, Philip McBride, and Joe Allport

Texans at Gettysburg: Blood and Glory with Hood's Texas Brigade by Joseph L. Owen and Randy S. Drais

The last two are compilations of first hand accounts from the Texas Brigade.

 

[DR_Hanna]

The History of the Doles-Cook Brigade by Henry W Thomas

 

[GELongstreet]

A few more; all written by veterans, out of copyright and free to download on archive.org

A soldier's story of his regiment and incidentally of the Lawton-Gordon-Evans brigade, ANV by Pvt. George W. Nichols

Ross' Texas Brigade by Victor M. Rose

Story of the Sherman brigade - The camp, the march, the bivouac, the battle; and how the boys lived and died during four years of active field service by Lt. Col. Wilbur F. Hinman

History of the ram fleet and the Mississippi marine brigade in the war for the union on the Mississippi and its tributaries by Cpt. Warren D. Crandall and Cpt. Isaac D. Newell

History of the First Brigade, New Jersey Volunteers by 2Lt. Camille Baquet

The Union Indian Brigade in the Civil War by Wiley Britton

The history of Fuller's Ohio brigade, 1861-1865 by Maj. Charles H. Smith

History of the Philadelphia Brigade. Sixty-ninth, Seventy-first, Seventy-second, and One hundred and sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Volume 1 & Volume 2 by Lt. Col. Charles H. Banes

and

Second brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves at Antietam by the Antietam battlefield memorial commission of PA

 

[AUG]

A few more; all written by veterans, out of copyright and free to download on archive.org

A soldier's story of his regiment and incidentally of the Lawton-Gordon-Evans brigade, ANV by Pvt. George W. Nichols

Ross' Texas Brigade by Victor M. Rose

Story of the Sherman brigade - The camp, the march, the bivouac, the battle; and how the boys lived and died during four years of active field service by Lt. Col. Wilbur F. Hinman

History of the ram fleet and the Mississippi marine brigade in the war for the union on the Mississippi and its tributaries by Cpt. Warren D. Crandall and Cpt. Isaac D. Newell

History of the First Brigade, New Jersey Volunteers by 2Lt. Camille Baquet

The Union Indian Brigade in the Civil War by Wiley Britton

The history of Fuller's Ohio brigade, 1861-1865 by Maj. Charles H. Smith

History of the Philadelphia Brigade. Sixty-ninth, Seventy-first, Seventy-second, and One hundred and sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Volume 1 & Volume 2 by Lt. Col. Charles H. Banes

and

Second brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves at Antietam by the Antietam battlefield memorial commission of PA

Thanks! I haven't seen a few of those before. Pvt. George W. Nichols' books is a great read - good combination of personal experiences with a history of the Lawton-Gordon-Evans Georgia Brigade. Forgot about that one!

 

[GELongstreet]

One we should not forget; standing among the best I know. It is modern and you have to pay - though it is worth it and you may even get a cheap shot ... amazon has used ones for just 6 bucks right now.

That Body of Brave Men: The U.S. Regular Infantry and The Civil War In The West by Mark W. Johnson

It is, as the title says, about the regular infantry in the west, which means the units of the Regular Brigade of the Army of the Cumberland (at least for much of the war). Details, details and more details on over 750 pages.

 

[AUG]

Forgot to add Between the Enemy and Texas: Parson's Texas Cavalry in the Civil War by Anne J. Bailey. Haven't read it yet but it's on my wish list.

Colonel William Henry Parson's Brigade consisted of the 12th, 19th, and 21st Texas Cavalry, Morgan's Texas Battalion, the Tenth Texas Field Battery, and Johnson's Spy company. It served in the Trans-Mississippi, mainly in Arkansas and Louisiana.

 

[AUG]

Several books have been published on the Philadelphia Brigade, also known as the California Brigade.


View attachment 95603 View attachment 95604

Already got those two in the OP. I read Stuart Salling's "Louisianians in the Western Confederacy" a couple years ago and highly recommend it. It is very well researched and written, along with a sufficient number of maps for every battle and campaign, and many photographs of participants. Well worth the money!

I really wish there were more Army of Tennessee brigade histories like this one. I'd really like to see a good brigade history done on Liddell's-Govan's Arkansas Brigade of Cleburne's Division.

 

[JED740]

I know I and many others here enjoy reading unit histories. There have been hundreds, if not thousands of regimental histories written over the years, but a fewer number of brigade histories. So here is a list of those I have either read or at least am aware of. If you know of any others please feel free to list them as well.


Union

The Iron Brigade: A Military History by Alan T. Nolan

The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory: The Black Hats from Bull Run to Appomattox and Thereafter by Lance Herdegen

The Irish Brigade In The Civil War: The 69th New York and Other Irish Regiments of The Army Of The Potomac by Joseph G. Bilby

Stopping Pickett: The History of the Philadelphia Brigade by Bradley M. Gottfried

Put the Vermonters Ahead: The First Vermont Brigade in the Civil War by George W. Parsons

Nine Months to Gettysburg: Stannard's Vermonters and the Repulse of Pickett's Charge by Howard Coffin

Lighting at Hoover's Gap: The Story of Wilder's Brigade by Glenn Sunderland


Confederate

Hood's Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacy's Most Celebrated Unit by Susannah J. Ural

Hood's Texas Brigade: Lee's Grenadier Guard by Colonel Harold B. Simpson

Hood's Texas Brigade in the Civil War by Edward B. Williams

Hood's Texas Brigade: Its Marches, Its Battles, Its Achievements by J. B. Polley (written by veteran)

This Band of Heroes: Granbury's Texas Brigade by James M. McCaffrey

Granbury's Texas Brigade: Diehard Western Confederates by John R. Lundberg

A Force to Be Reckoned With: A History of Granbury's Texas Infantry Brigade, 1861-1865 by Danny Sessums

Polignac's Texas Brigade by Alwyn Barr

Civil War in the Southwest: Recollections of the Sibley Brigade by Jerry Thompson

Donald S. Frazier's books on the New Mexico Campaign and the war in Texas and Louisiana also cover the history of the Sibley Brigade.

Frontier Horsemen of the Confederacy: Major's Texas Cavalry Brigade by James T. Matthews

Lone Star Regiments in Gray by Ralph A. Wooster (covers regiments by the brigade)

Lee's Tigers: The Louisiana Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia by Terry L. Jones

Lee's Tigers Revisited: The Louisiana Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia by Terry L. Jones (updated edition)

Louisianians in the Western Confederacy: The Adams-Gibson Brigade in the Civil War by Stuart Salling

Arkansas Confederates in the Western Theater by James Willis (first half of the book is a history of the 9th Arkansas Infantry, second half is a history D.H. Reynold's Arkansas Brigade)

In Deadly Earnest: The History of the First Missouri Brigade by Phil Gottschalk

The South's Finest: The First Missouri Confederate Brigade from Pea Ridge to Vicksburg by Phillip Thomas Tucker

Jo Shelby's Iron Brigade by Deryl Sellmeyer

The Orphan Brigade: The Kentucky Confederates Who Couldn't Go Home by William C. Davis

History of the Orphan Brigade by Edwin Porter Thomas (written by veteran)

By the Noble Daring of Her Sons: The Florida Brigade of the Army of Tennessee by Jonathan C. Sheppard

A Small Spartan Band: The Florida Brigade in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia by Zack C. Waters and James C. Edmonds

Law's Alabama Brigade in the War Between the Union and the Confederacy by J. Gary Laine and Morris M. Penny

General Lee's Immortals: The Battles and Campaigns of the Branch-Lane Brigade in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 by Michael C. Hardy

Lee's Tar Heels: The Pettigrew-Kirkland-McRae Brigade by Earl J. Hess

Clingman's Brigade in the Confederacy, 1862-1865 by Frances H. Casstevens

The Tennessee Brigade by Randy Bishop

The Stonewall Brigade by James I. Robertson

Lions of the Dan: The Untold Story of Armistead's Brigade by J.K. Brandau

A History of the Laurel Brigade: Originally the Ashby Cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia and Chew's Battery by William N. McDonald

History of Kershaw's Brigade by D. Augustus Dickert (written by veteran)

The History of a Brigade of South Carolinians, known first "Greggs" and subsequently as "McGowan's Brigade" by J. F. J. Caldwell (written by veteran)

The Struck Eagle: A Biography of Brigadier General Micah Jenkins by James J. Baldwin III (also a history of the 5th South Carolina Infantry, Palmetto Sharpshooters, and Jenkins'/Bratton's South Carolina Brigade)

One I'm reading now is A Carolinian Goes to War. Arthur Manigault's Brigade. References my ancestor Col. Newton N. Davis, 24th Alabama.

 

[Zack]

Put the Vermonters Ahead: The First Vermont Brigade in the Civil War by George W. Parsons

Has anyone read this one? Put the Vermonters Ahead? Is it any good?