Building a personal reference and resource library

[61Cadillac]

In 4 years I am retiring from a 47 year career as a firefighter in a large metropolitan fire department. It's been a long ride and needless to say my body is pretty beat up. I have always been interested in the Civil War since my family took a vacation to Gettysburg for the 110th anniversary of the battle in 1973. Over the last 10 years I have started to collect a lot of reference materials, my corner stone being a complete set of the Official Records of the War of Rebelion, including the atlas. I have too many numerous books to list here now, and to be honest, until I get the bookshelves built this winter and get them in some order I'm not even sure what all I have. My question for the members who are truly entrenched in the research aspect is what other reference materials would you recommend? What good websites should I be scouring? I'd like to focus my research on individual soldiers and the lesser known events of the war. I'd like to bring aspects and people of the war back from being lost to time. The people and events who's stories are there but hidden in the records. Ultimately, my goal is to start writing essays on these people, events and topics. The stories withing the stories if you will.

 

[Library Lady]

@61Cadillac , you mentioned not knowing exactly what books you have because you need to build shelves first. I would highly recommend that you make a list of at least title and author in Excel or whatever Google calls its similar program. Because I buy books and other Civil War-related items from Friends of the Library/AAUW sales and the used book and record shop where I volunteer so I can resell them in support of my Civil War Round Table's efforts toward battlefield preservation, I learned the hard way that I needed to do this to avoid unknowingly buying duplicates. My master list has over 700 items, things that I specifically do not intend to sell, things that are still on the shelf (more like on the floor in piles), things that are priced and packed for sale, things that have sold and things that I have withdrawn (passed on to other venues when they didn't sell for me). I also note what the item format is if not a book and, if a book, whether it is fiction, nonfiction or biography. I also note anything that is designed for younger readers. You don't need the extra categories I have in my master list, but you might consider a subject category in addition to the title and author.

 

[gjpratt]

Just a wild question and a follow-up: Is there such a thing as a Digital Version of the Official Records, and if so, is there a Searchable Version of the Digital Official Records? NEVER MIND - FOUND THE RECORDS ONLINE. (Not Searchable)

@Stryker65 must be in class. He has digitized the entire ORs and they are searchable. Thios is my go-to resource for OR research. I will let him give you the link when he checks in, but he has posted it here before.

 

[Stryker65]

@Stryker65 must be in class. He has digitized the entire ORs and they are searchable. Thios is my go-to resource for OR research. I will let him give you the link when he checks in, but he has posted it here before.

I have indeed now returned from class, as well as dinner. The link is here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TYCuRlKD7yCLp_xuiWEHw3nCv69SH_CzFLe0gj1arAA/edit?tab=t.0

I had previously posted this on this thread: https://civilwartalk.com/threads/th...rate-armies-and-navies-complete-scans.212906/

The thread includes a description of the document as well. Hope this helps!

 

[JulieWeathers]

@61Cadillac , you mentioned not knowing exactly what books you have because you need to build shelves first. I would highly recommend that you make a list of at least title and author in Excel or whatever Google calls its similar program. Because I buy books and other Civil War-related items from Friends of the Library/AAUW sales and the used book and record shop where I volunteer so I can resell them in support of my Civil War Round Table's efforts toward battlefield preservation, I learned the hard way that I needed to do this to avoid unknowingly buying duplicates. My master list has over 700 items, things that I specifically do not intend to sell, things that are still on the shelf (more like on the floor in piles), things that are priced and packed for sale, things that have sold and things that I have withdrawn (passed on to other venues when they didn't sell for me). I also note what the item format is if not a book and, if a book, whether it is fiction, nonfiction or biography. I also note anything that is designed for younger readers. You don't need the extra categories I have in my master list, but you might consider a subject category in addition to the title and author.

Agreed. I organize my books by subject and then authors so I can find what I need when I go hunting. Also, keeping an excel sheet of your library is invaluable. It saves so much time when you're wondering whether you should buy a book or not and can't remember if you have it. Trust me, you'll forget what you have. Having said that, I purposely have duplicates of some books. I don't trust ebooks, but they are convenient for pulling out quotes. I keep the hardcopies in case the ebooks poof. There's no guarantee you'll always have them even if you bought them.

 

[Library Lady]

@JulieWeathers makes a good point. I'm not sure everyone realizes that when they think they are buying an E-book or E-audiobook from their retailer of choice, they aren't buying the actual "book", but rather a license to access the content. Licenses can be (and have been) revoked.

 

[61Cadillac]

Oh yes!!! Thanks so much for raising this, 61Cadillac. I look forward to seeing what you write. It is so much fun, researching and recreating aspects of the war. And a person just can't have enough books, can they? Thank heavens so many are available second hand, or I'd be broke! I'm a novelist, working on the 4th and final volume of a Civil War saga. Since, like you, I'm particularly interested in obscure corners of the war-- the forgotten, hidden, and less celebrated--I've a strange collection. Might not be of use to anyone else-- you'll find your own corners, I'm sure-- but here's the collection in pictures:

View attachment 564996
The whole kit and Kaboodle


View attachment 564997
Civil War medicine



View attachment 564998
Home grown camp newspapers



View attachment 564999
Pictural references


View attachment 565000
Riding with Stonewall's army. It's missing my all-time favorite book, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Solider, The Legend by James Robertson because I loaned it to a friend, and you know how loaned books get cozy in their new homes and forget all about you.



View attachment 565001
The naval war... lots of emphasis on running the blockade.


View attachment 565002
A slave's experience of the war



View attachment 565003
Spies and spymasters


View attachment 565004
Women in the war


View attachment 565005
The Erie Canal in the Civil War... who knew it was so vital?



View attachment 565006
And my reading for my current chapters... Atlanta and Sherman's March... just got started on this, so I've a little space on the shelf to fill. (Oh boy!)

Yeah, ok, so a bit nutty, but is it any crazier than collecting butterflies?

That is quite the eclectic collection! I like it! I will post photos of mine once I get some shelves built and an order to them. Fortunately for me I am dating a former librarian and once the shelves are built I have someone who knows how to put them in a user-friendly order!
Presently it is on the overall records, the larger battles and I am starting to acquire regimental histories as I come across them. When I find a rabbit hole to my liking though I plan on diving right into it! And yes! Thank you for reasonably priced used books! Lately I look at my books like I do pets and I would much rather rehome a good used book needing a new reader and saving it from the recycler or land fill. My poor daughter, every time I bring home a new carton of books I can just see her thinking "Great! More books I am going to have to figure out what to do with some day!"
What are the names of the novels you've published?
Oh, P.S. I live in an Erie Canal city and cross over it probably 10 times a day.

 

[ScottRMcKinley]

Oh yes!!! Thanks so much for raising this, 61Cadillac. I look forward to seeing what you write. It is so much fun, researching and recreating aspects of the war. And a person just can't have enough books, can they? Thank heavens so many are available second hand, or I'd be broke! I'm a novelist, working on the 4th and final volume of a Civil War saga. Since, like you, I'm particularly interested in obscure corners of the war-- the forgotten, hidden, and less celebrated--I've a strange collection. Might not be of use to anyone else-- you'll find your own corners, I'm sure-- but here's the collection in pictures:

View attachment 564996
The whole kit and Kaboodle


View attachment 564997
Civil War medicine



View attachment 564998
Home grown camp newspapers



View attachment 564999
Pictural references


View attachment 565000
Riding with Stonewall's army. It's missing my all-time favorite book, Stonewall Jackson: The Man, The Solider, The Legend by James Robertson because I loaned it to a friend, and you know how loaned books get cozy in their new homes and forget all about you.



View attachment 565001
The naval war... lots of emphasis on running the blockade.


View attachment 565002
A slave's experience of the war



View attachment 565003
Spies and spymasters


View attachment 565004
Women in the war


View attachment 565005
The Erie Canal in the Civil War... who knew it was so vital?



View attachment 565006
And my reading for my current chapters... Atlanta and Sherman's March... just got started on this, so I've a little space on the shelf to fill. (Oh boy!)

Yeah, ok, so a bit nutty, but is it any crazier than collecting butterflies?

An eclectic mix of solid titles. And an unexpected delight in seeing Walter Edmonds' Mostly Canallers stories on the shelf! Loved it.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

That is quite the eclectic collection! I like it! I will post photos of mine once I get some shelves built and an order to them. Fortunately for me I am dating a former librarian and once the shelves are built I have someone who knows how to put them in a user-friendly order!
Presently it is on the overall records, the larger battles and I am starting to acquire regimental histories as I come across them. When I find a rabbit hole to my liking though I plan on diving right into it! And yes! Thank you for reasonably priced used books! Lately I look at my books like I do pets and I would much rather rehome a good used book needing a new reader and saving it from the recycler or land fill. My poor daughter, every time I bring home a new carton of books I can just see her thinking "Great! More books I am going to have to figure out what to do with some day!"
What are the names of the novels you've published?
Oh, P.S. I live in an Erie Canal city and cross over it probably 10 times a day.

Wow! I'm so jealous of your Erie Canal connections. I used to live in Buffalo, long ago and far away, and we'd bike along the canal for family vacations. An absolute favorite of mine. It was an Erie Canal Museum curator who helped me extensively with my research for this portion of the books. It was so much fun to imagine and write.

What I've published so far are two novels of mythology and magical realism, and a small book of short stories about the garden in German. Perhaps not of such interest to this group. The war books have been 8 years in the making, requiring that I read 4-5 books for every chapter (trying to get the history solid before I go for the polt) and it's very slow. But, as we say in medicine, all bleeding eventually stops! My outline tells me that I may finish within the next year. Here's hoping.

As I said, I'm exited to hear about what you decide to collect and write. Keep us updated.

 

[Lisa Murphy]

@61Cadillac , you mentioned not knowing exactly what books you have because you need to build shelves first. I would highly recommend that you make a list of at least title and author in Excel or whatever Google calls its similar program. Because I buy books and other Civil War-related items from Friends of the Library/AAUW sales and the used book and record shop where I volunteer so I can resell them in support of my Civil War Round Table's efforts toward battlefield preservation, I learned the hard way that I needed to do this to avoid unknowingly buying duplicates. My master list has over 700 items, things that I specifically do not intend to sell, things that are still on the shelf (more like on the floor in piles), things that are priced and packed for sale, things that have sold and things that I have withdrawn (passed on to other venues when they didn't sell for me). I also note what the item format is if not a book and, if a book, whether it is fiction, nonfiction or biography. I also note anything that is designed for younger readers. You don't need the extra categories I have in my master list, but you might consider a subject category in addition to the title and author.

Very impressive! Library Lady indeed. A real effort for a worthy cause.

 

[Library Lady]

Very impressive! Library Lady indeed. A real effort for a worthy cause.

Thank you for your kind words, @Lisa Murphy . Working for the book sale is pretty much my hobby. I've been a member of my Round Table since the movie Gettysburg came out, but their meeting schedule and my work schedule have rarely played well together. I value my membership in the group, and this is what I can do to best help out even though I often can't attend meetings. Book sale day is always a personal day/vacation day/shift swap day if I'm scheduled to work. Lucky for me, my assistant manager (who handles scheduling for the department) at the library is on board with this behavior. Yes, I am all books, all the time.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

I'd recommend picking a State, Campaign, or Army and build from there.

Applicable OR volumes and the Atlas, the applicable volumes of Broadfoot's by state/by unit rosters, and/or Amann's 'Personnel of the Civil War'.

From there, in order:

Campaign studies - regimental histories - published individual memoirs - and finally, check the local state/regional historical society (and don't forget to check your state national guard journal) publications for independent/peer-reviewed articles… especially dating back to around the centennial!

Scrutinize the bibliographies of all of the above… and chase those hardcopy leads up on ABE Books, Amazon, and Ebay.

Also don't discount specific county history books… very good sources for names of who left to fight/were killed, actions in the area, community contributions to the cause, etc.

If you are an addict like me, and can find old copies out on the free market (and/or have unredacted access to digital copies) - read archeological reports of battlefields… you can learn a lot about artifact densities and locations to determine positions and movements.

If you did it right, you will have spent enough money that you need to come back out of retirement!

Afterthough edit:

Create an index on excel or the like that you can take with you on the go/access on your phone.

Believe me - after you amass a research library worth, you tend to get fuzzy on some that you have already acquired. I realized I needed to create an inventory after buying a $150 duplicate… turns out i already had it, but didnt recognize it simply because it had been rebound.

 

[61Cadillac]

I'd recommend picking a State, Campaign, or Army and build from there.

Applicable OR volumes and the Atlas, the applicable volumes of Broadfoot's by state/by unit rosters, and/or Amann's 'Personnel of the Civil War'.

From there, in order:

Campaign studies - regimental histories - published individual memoirs - and finally, check the local state/regional historical society (and don't forget to check your state national guard journal) publications for independent/peer-reviewed articles… especially dating back to around the centennial!

Scrutinize the bibliographies of all of the above… and chase those hardcopy leads up on ABE Books, Amazon, and Ebay.

Also don't discount specific county history books… very good sources for names of who left to fight/were killed, actions in the area, community contributions to the cause, etc.

If you are an addict like me, and can find old copies out on the free market (and/or have unredacted access to digital copies) - read archeological reports of battlefields… you can learn a lot about artifact densities and locations to determine positions and movements.

If you did it right, you will have spent enough money that you need to come back out of retirement!

Afterthough edit:

Create an index on excel or the like that you can take with you on the go/access on your phone.

Believe me - after you amass a research library worth, you tend to get fuzzy on some that you have already acquired. I realized I needed to create an inventory after buying a $150 duplicate… turns out i already had it, but didnt recognize it simply because it had been rebound.

I already have the entire 130 volume set of the OR, found them on Facebook Marketplace, in original boxes and each volume still individually wrapped in original plastic. Got the set for $600 and considering what I paid to get the 3 volume set of the Bachelder Papers I think I did ok. Also I am dating a former librarian, she's actually looking forwards to helping me catalogue and organize my collection. I'm probably pushing upwards of 350 books already. I have a line on a few original Regimental Histories and those will be my next purchases. Also made friends with a fellow who does estate cleanouts. Asked if he ever came across Civil War relics and his reply was "All the time." Said he has bins and bins of stuff up in his attic INCLUDING uniforms! When he has a chance he said he would dig them out and get a hold of me. So yes, it's a good thing I can take my Fire Investigation skills with me after retirement and do some per-diem insurance work after retirement.

 

[7th Texas Mounted Rifles]

I already have the entire 130 volume set of the OR, found them on Facebook Marketplace, in original boxes and each volume still individually wrapped in original plastic. Got the set for $600 and considering what I paid to get the 3 volume set of the Bachelder Papers I think I did ok. Also I am dating a former librarian, she's actually looking forwards to helping me catalogue and organize my collection. I'm probably pushing upwards of 350 books already. I have a line on a few original Regimental Histories and those will be my next purchases. Also made friends with a fellow who does estate cleanouts. Asked if he ever came across Civil War relics and his reply was "All the time." Said he has bins and bins of stuff up in his attic INCLUDING uniforms! When he has a chance he said he would dig them out and get a hold of me. So yes, it's a good thing I can take my Fire Investigation skills with me after retirement and do some per-diem insurance work after retirement.

Great start.

Those lesser known regimental/company histories are where you get hit hard… not uncommon for them to have been printed in 250 or 500 copy runs, back in the 1950s/60s.

Sounds like you are off to the races - it's addicting, for sure.

Good luck!

 

[Stryker65]

I already have the entire 130 volume set of the OR, found them on Facebook Marketplace, in original boxes and each volume still individually wrapped in original plastic. Got the set for $600 and considering what I paid to get the 3 volume set of the Bachelder Papers I think I did ok. Also I am dating a former librarian, she's actually looking forwards to helping me catalogue and organize my collection. I'm probably pushing upwards of 350 books already. I have a line on a few original Regimental Histories and those will be my next purchases. Also made friends with a fellow who does estate cleanouts. Asked if he ever came across Civil War relics and his reply was "All the time." Said he has bins and bins of stuff up in his attic INCLUDING uniforms! When he has a chance he said he would dig them out and get a hold of me. So yes, it's a good thing I can take my Fire Investigation skills with me after retirement and do some per-diem insurance work after retirement.

Great find! IMHO, however, I don't think I would look to get the OR physical set, because it makes searching the volumes for individual words and references difficult. However, it is still very cool that you found them!

 

[13 IL Cav & 64 GA Inf]

Thank you for your kind words, @Lisa Murphy . Working for the book sale is pretty much my hobby. I've been a member of my Round Table since the movie Gettysburg came out, but their meeting schedule and my work schedule have rarely played well together. I value my membership in the group, and this is what I can do to best help out even though I often can't attend meetings. Book sale day is always a personal day/vacation day/shift swap day if I'm scheduled to work. Lucky for me, my assistant manager (who handles scheduling for the department) at the library is on board with this behavior. Yes, I am all books, all the time.

I'll bet you have a master's degree in library science!

 

[Library Lady]

I'll bet you have a master's degree in library science!

I wish! I'm just a shelver. I made a questionable career choice back in 1972 when I started college.

 

[Belfoured]

Thank you Gary. Is the O.R. Supplemental an additional series to the 128 volume set?

It was compiled by a group of recognized Civil War historians for Broadfoot Publishing in the 1990's. The problem is that it seems to have gone OOP. It was sold only as a set and I've never seen one in the secondary/"used"market I suspect that it was 95% or so bought up by institutions. Even those holdings are scattered. It's arranged differently as well. Based on using it at a library, only the first few volumes are organized along the lines of the OR (chronological coverage of campaigns). Not sure why it hasn't been digitalized if there are no physical books being sold anymore. (Hathi Trust lists it but it's "limited" to "search" only - useless)

Anybody who has different information should weigh in.

 

[Library Lady]

If you have access to FamilySearch, it looks like they have it available digitally and searchable. I don't have access, so I can't get past the log-in to see what happens next. FamilySearch would seem to be more in @lupaglupa 's territory than mine. Perhaps she can tell you more.

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog/750468

 

[Belfoured]

If you have access to FamilySearch, it looks like they have it available digitally and searchable. I don't have access, so I can't get past the log-in to see what happens next. FamilySearch would seem to be more in @lupaglupa 's territory than mine. Perhaps she can tell you more.

https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/catalog/750468

I saw that but because I don't have access I couldn't tell which they make available. There are a lot of later volumes that are unit/state oriented. The first volumes are pretty similar to the type of material in the OR, which seems less useful for Family Search members.

 

[DaveBrt]

I saw that but because I don't have access I couldn't tell which they make available. There are a lot of later volumes that are unit/state oriented. The first volumes are pretty similar to the type of material in the OR, which seems less useful for Family Search members.

One of the screens says they cannot be viewed online because of copyright restriction.