NF Civil War Battles and Campaigns Reading List

Non-Fiction

AA484

Private
Joined
Jan 17, 2020
Hello, first post. I see a lot of threads asking for book recommendations so I thought I would do my best at making a comprehensive reading list for the major battles and campaigns. I will start with the Eastern Theater and go from there. I will recommend a single volume or series for the entire campaign as well as individual works for major engagements of the campaign, if applicable. I feel that the following are the best treatments of each respective campaign but that does not mean that there are other works out there that some may prefer over my choices. Additionally, there are several battles which could use updated studies but most of what is here is the best of what is available and should still be readable to most students of the war.

Many of these books are out of print and quite expensive on the secondary market but I was able to read several of them through my local library's Inter-Library Loan Program. It is a great resource if you are interested in any of the following and either cannot find them or do not want to spend a lot of money on out of print titles. Simply contact your local library and ask if they participate in the program.

As an introductory note, maps in some works are, unfortunately, scarce or non-existent in some cases. I would have some type of atlas or mapguide available while reading, especially if you are not familiar with the works in question. There are several out there but an individual volume does not come to mind and your mileage may vary as far as the quality of the maps concerned. I will say that the maps developed by the American Battlefield Trust are some of the best out there so having them readily available on a tablet as you read provides a cheaper alternative to plopping down money for a map book. With that said, Bradley Gottfried has several superb volumes of maps covering various eastern campaigns and are definitely worth the money.

Visiting the sites for better interpretation of the battles and campaigns are highly recommended so I will also post the best tour or guide books (if available) for each campaign.

Eastern Theater, Part I

Western Virginia Campaign
1. Overall: Lee vs. McClellan: The First Campaign by Clayton Newell
2. Rich Mountain: Yanks From the South! The 1st Land Campaign of the Civil War, Rich Mountain West Virginia by Fritz Haselberger
3. Carnifex Ferry: September Blood: The Battle of Carnifex Ferry by Terry Lowry
4. Cheat Mountain: R.E. Lee's Cheat Mountain Campaign by Jack Zinn

First Manassas Campaign
1. The Early Morning of War: Bull Run, 1861 by Edward G. Longacre
2. Maps: The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First BUll Run Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June-October, 1861 by Bradley M. Gottfried
3. Guide Book: Manassas: A Battlefield Guide by Ethan S. Rafuse

Ball's Bluff
A Little Short of Boats: The Battles of Ball's Bluff & Edwards Ferry, October 21-22, 1861 by James A. Morgan

Burnside's North Carolina Expedition
1. Overall: A Succession of Honorable Victories: The Burnside Expedition in North Carolina by Richard Sauers
2. Roanoke Island: The Battle of Roanoke Island: Burnside and the Fight for North Carolina by Michael P. Zatarga

Jackson's Valley Campaign
1. Overall: Shenandoah 1962: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign by Peter Cozzens
2. Kernstown: We Are in for It: The First Battle of Kernstown, March 23, 1862 by Gary L. Ecelbarger
3. Winchester: Three Days in the Shenandoah: Stonewall Jackson at Front Royal and Winchester by Gary Ecelbarger
4. Cross Keys/Port Republic: Conquering the Valley: Stonewall Jackson at Port Republic by Robert Krick
5. Guide Book: Civil War Road Trip, Volume I: A Guide to Northern Virginia, Maryland & Pennsylvania, 1861-1863: First Manassas to Gettysburg [See the section dealing with Jackson's Valley Campaign]

Peninsula Campaign/Seven Days
1. Overall: To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign by Stephen Sears (note: Russel H. Beatie's Army of the Potomac: McClellan's First Campaign, March-May 1862 is a much more detailed work than Sears' but only covers the Union side. Sears's work is probably the best of what is available as far as overall treatments of both sides are concerned.)
2. Hampton Roads (Monitor vs. Merrimack): Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle That Changed History by Richard Snow
3. Yorktown: Yorktown's Civil War Siege: Drums Along the Warwick by John V. Quarstein and J. Michael Moore
4. Williamsburg: A Pitiless Rain: The Battle of Williamsburg, 1862 by Earl C. Hastings, Jr. and David Hastings
5. Seven Pines: The Battle of Seven Pines, May 31-June 1, 1862 by Steven H. Newton
6. Drewry's Bluff: River of Lost Opportunities: The Civil War on the James River 1861-1862 [See chapter(s) on Drewry's Bluff battle] by Ed Bearss
7. Seven Days Battles: Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles by Brian K. Burton
8. Guide Book: The Peninsula and Seven Days: A Battlefield Guide by Brian K. Burton

Northern Virginia (Second Manassas) Campaign
1. Cedar Mountain: Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain by Robert K. Krick
2. Overall/Second Manassas: Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas by John J. Hennessy
3. Chantilly: Tempest at Ox Hill: The Battle of Chantilly by David A. Welker
4. Guide Book: Manassas: A Battlefield Guide by Ethan S. Rafuse

Antietam Campaign
1. Invasion Phase/South Mountain/Harpers Ferry: To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 by David S. Hartwig
2. Battle of Antietam: Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam (note: Hartwig is currently working on his second volume of the Maryland Campaign. All indications are that it should supplant Sears's in terms of detail and research but it does not yet have a release date. Sears's will suffice for now.) (second note: Carman's turn-of-the-century landmark study of the battle surpasses Sears's in terms of detail and scope but may be too dry for "modern" readers. I tried to keep the list limited to post-centennial studies but this was the closest I came to making an exception. Feel free to peruse Carman's second volume [edited by Thomas Clemens] and substitute it for Sears's book, if you like what you see).
3. Maps: The Maps of Antietam: An Atlas of the Antietam (Sharpsburg) Campaign, including the Battle of South Mountain, September 2-20, 1862 by Bradley M. Gottfried
4. Guide Book (Battle): A Field Guide to Antietam: Experiencing the Battlefield through Its History, Places, and People by Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler
5. Guide Book (South Mountain and Harpers Ferry): Antietam, South Mountain, and Harpers Ferry: A Battlefield Guide by Ethan S. Rafuse
6. Guide Brook (Other campaign sites): To Hazard All: A Guide to the Maryland Campaign, 1862 by Robert Orrison and Kevin Pawlak

Fredericksburg Campaign
1. The Fredericksburg Campaign: Winter War on the Rappahannock by Francis Augustin O'Reilly
2. Maps: The Maps of Fredericksburg: An Atlas of the Fredericksburg Campaign, including all Cavalry Operations, September 18, 1862 -January 22, 1863 by Bradley M. Gottfried
3. Guide Book: Guides to the Battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg by Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson
 
Thanks for your insight. Its always nice to get a recommended reading list to refer to. Looks like I have a lot of books to add to the need to read list. I better get busy!
 
Overall a good list. For 1st Manassas I really like The First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence by Hennessy
That's a good addition. His Second Manassas Map Study should also make the list. Hardy's Battle of Hanover Court House can be added to the Peninsula Campaign. And Rable's Fredericksburg book is a nice complement to O'Reilly.
 
I look forward to diving into this list later on, bookmarked this page. Timely too, as relatives have been asking for ideas for my birthday next week.
 
Welcome from northeast Ohio and the Bull Run/Manassas Forum!

Thanks for the list of books!
 
***Update***

Eastern Theater, Part II

Chancellorsville Campaign
1. Overall: Chancellorsville by Stephen Sears
2. Salem Church/2nd Fredericksburg: Chancellorsville's Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church, May 3, 1863
3. Guide Book: Guides to the Battles of Chancellorsville and Fredericksburg by Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson

Gettysburg Campaign
So many warrant inclusion that it was hard to narrow them all down. You could delve even deeper than what I have here; I chose for simplicity's sake to only go as deep as each day or major event. There are good books on just Little Round Top, The Wheatfield, The Peach Orchard, etc. if you'd like even more detail.
1. Overall: The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command by Edwin B. Coddington (Modern works by Sears, Trudeau, Guelzo, etc. are worthy of inclusion but Coddington's work has the best overall treatment of the campaign, especially the events leading up to the battle itself.)
2. Brandy Station: The Battle of Brandy Station: North America's Largest Cavalry Battle by Eric J. Wittenberg and O. James Lighthizer
3. Second Winchester: The Second Battle of Winchester: The Confederate Victory that Opened the Door to Gettysburg by Scott L. Mingus Sr. and Eric J. Wittenberg
4. Stuart's Raid: Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg by Eric Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi
5. First Day: Gettysburg July 1 by David G. Martin (Pfanz's account of the first day is also recommended)
6. Second Day: Gettysburg -- The Second Day by Harry W. Pfanz
7. Cemetery & Culp's Hill: Gettysburg -- Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill by Harry W. Pfanz
8. Pickett's Charge: Pickett's Charge -- The Last Attack at Gettysburg by Earl J. Hess
9. Cavalry Actions I: Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions: Farnsworth's Charge, South Cavalry Field, and the Battle of Fairfield, July 3, 1863 by Eric J. Wittenberg
10. Cavalry Actions II: Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg: The Battles for Brinkerhoff's Ridge and East Cavalry Field, July 2-3, 1863
11. Retreat: One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia by Wittenberg, Petruzzi, and Nugent OR Retreat From Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign by Kent Masterson Brown (Wittenberg, et. al's study is more from the Union perspective while Brown's is more from the Confederate side)
12. Maps: The Maps of Gettysburg: An Atlas of the Gettysburg Campaign, June 3-July 13, 1863 by Bradley Gottfried (Gottfried has a cavalry edition due out in March)
13. Guide Book: The Complete Gettysburg Guide: Walking and Driving Tours of the Battlefield, et. al. by J. David Petruzzi and Steven Stanley

Bristoe Campaign
1. Post-Gettysburg: Meade and Lee After Gettysburg: The Forgotten Final Stage of the Gettysburg Campaign, from Falling Waters to Culpeper Court House, July 14-31, 1863 by Jeffrey Hunt
2. Bristoe Stationn: Meade and Lee at Bristoe Station: The Problems of Command and Strategy after Gettysburg, from Brandy Station to the Buckland Race, August 1 to October 31, 1863 by Jeffrey Hunt
3. Maps: The Maps of the Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns: An Atlas of the Battles and Movements in the Eastern Theater after Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried

Mine Run
1. Mine Run: A Campaign of Lost Opportunities, October 21, 1863 - May 1, 1864 by Martin Graham and George F. Skoch (Also covers Rappahannock Station; Hunt's concluding third volume of the action between Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign will almost certainly supplant this but Martin & Skoch's work will suffice for now; Chris Mackowski's The Great Battle Never Fought: The Mine Run Campaign, November 26-December 2, 1863 is also recommended as it focuses a bit more closely on the Mine Run operations themselves. I included Martin & Skoch for covering a broader period of time, so take your pick between the two)
2. Maps: The Maps of the Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns: An Atlas of the Battles and Movements in the Eastern Theater after Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried
 
Welcome to the forums from the host of the Stonewall Jackson Forum - several years ago I compiled a thread on books relating to Jackson that perhaps you would find useful:
 
***Update***

Eastern Theater, Part III

Bermuda Hundred Campaign
Overall: Back Door to Richmond: The Bermuda Hundred Campaign, April-June 1864 by William Glenn Robertson (Herbert Schiller has a work on the campaign of comparable length but I have not read it. I understand it is also of good quality, though. Robertson's book is cheaper and more common)

Grant's Overland Campaign
1. Overall: There are a couple of good books that cover the Overland Campaign in full, but Rhea's multi-volume account is the best treatment of the campaign.
Wilderness: The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864, by Gordon C. Rhea
Spotsylvania Court House: The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864 by Gordon C. Rhea
Spotsylvania (cont.) and North Anna: To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 13-25, 1864, by Gordon C. Rhea
Cold Harbor: Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864, by Gordon C. Rhea
Cold Harbor (cont.) and crossing of the James: On to Petersburg: Grant and Lee, June 4-15, 1864, by Gordon C. Rhea
2. Maps: The Maps of the Wilderness: An Atlas of the Wilderness Campaign, by Bradley Gottfried (Gottfried has one on Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor set for release this December)
3. Guide Book: No Turning Back: A Guide to the 1864 Overland Campaign, from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor, May 4 - June 13, 1864, by Robert M. Dunkerly, Donald C. Pfanz, and David R. Ruth.

Lynchburg Campaign
Overall: Lee's Endangered Left: the Civil War in Western Virginia, Spring of 1864 by Richard R. Duncan (also covers the Crook-Averell operations in SW Virginia)
New Market: Valley Thunder: the Battle of New Mark and the Opening of the Shenandoah Valley Campaign May, 1864 by Charles R. Knight
Piedmont: The Battle of Piedmont and Hunter's Raid on Staunton: The 1864 Shenandoah Campaign by Scott C. Patchan
Lynchburg: The Battle of Lynchburg by L. VanLoan Naisawald (very short book but about as good as you'll find on a battle that has a frightening dearth of source material)

Early's Raid and Operations Against the B&O Railroad
Overall: Jubal Early's Raid on Washington by Benjamin Franklin Cooling and Shenandoah Summer: The 1864 Valley Campaign by Scott C. Patchan (Cooling's book covers Early's operations through Fort Stevens while Patchan covers his return to the Valley, including Cool Spring and Second Kernstown
Monocacy: Monocacy: The Battle That Saved Washington by Benjamin Franklin Cooling
Fort Stevens: The Day Lincoln Was Almost Shot: The Fort Stevens Story by Benjamin Franklin Cooling (in case you'd like a tad more detail than Cooling's overall book on the raid, he also has individual works covering Monocacy and Fort Stevens)

I'll be back today or tomorrow with the Petersburg campaign as the bibliography can be fairly daunting to adequately tackle.
 
Eastern Theater, Part IV

Richmond-Petersburg Campaign
Overall: A Campaign of Giants--The Battle for Petersburg: Volume 1: From the Crossing of the James to the Crater, by A. Wilson Greene, The Last Citadel: Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865 by Noah Andre Trudeau, The Petersburg Campaign: The Eastern Front Battles, June - August 1864 and The Petersburg Campaign: The Western Front Battles, September 1864 – April 1865 by Edwin C. Bearss (a little dry but covers parts of the campaign that have received little attention elsewhere).

Petersburg Assaults (June 15-18): Greene covers the first major assaults in adequate detail but for those wanting a little more you may want to check out The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864 by Sean Michael Chick (not as good as some of Chick's later work; needs an editor) and Petersburg Campaign: Wasted Valor, June 15-18 1864 by Thomas Howe (old Virginia Battles and Leaders series)

Jerusalem Plank Road: See Greene's or Bearss's respective chapters; Greene's is a little more readable

The Crater: There are a couple of good works but I prefer Into the Crater: The Mine Attack at Petersburg by Earl J. Hess

Deep Bottom/Globe Tavern/Ream's Station: The Siege of Petersburg: The Battles for the Weldon Railroad, August 1864 by John Horn

Chaffin's Farm & New Market Heights/Peebles' Farm: Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg, The Battles of Chaffin's Bluff and Poplar Spring Church, September 29 - October 2, 1864 by Richard J. Sommers

Boydton Plank Road: Richmond Must Fall: The Richmond-Petersburg Campaign, October 1864 by Hampton Newsome

Sheridan's Valley Campaign
Overall: From Winchester to Cedar Creek: The Shenandoah Campaign of 1864 by Jeffrey D. Wert

Third Winchester: The Last Battle of Winchester: Phil Sheridan, Jubal Early, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August 7–September 19, 1864 by Scott C. Patchan

Fisher's Hill: The Battle of Fisher's Hill: Breaking the Shenandoah Valley's Gibraltar by Jonathan A. Noyalas

Cedar Creek: Battle of Cedar Creek: Showdown in the Shenandoah, October 1-30th, 1864 by Theodore Mahr (criminally underrated; out of print and hard to find but maybe the best book in the Virginia Battles and Leaders series. There were rumors that an updated reprint was in the works but it has been a few years and nothing else has surfaced)

Fort Fisher
The Wilmington Campaign: Last Rays of Departing Hope by Chris E. Fonvielle, Jr.

Richmond-Petersburg (cont.)
Overall: See Trudeau's and Bearss's works above

Hatcher's Run: Trudeau and Bearss pretty much have the only entries on this battle, although (I believe) Blue and Gray Magazine had a series on Hatcher's Run sometime ago.

Fort Stedman: Again, Trudeau and Bearss have the only significant published contributions to this battle. The last month or two in the east really suffers from a dearth of detailed studies.

Waynesboro
The Battle of Waynesboro by Richard G. Williams, Jr.; not the greatest study of the battle (most of the book is about the town itself) and the chapters focusing on the battle are quite bare, probably having as much to do with the lack of sourcing as anything. Still, this is the published work on the battle.

Appomattox Campaign
Overall: The Appomattox Campaign by Chris Calkins (this book mostly covers Lee's retreat to the final surrender)

White Oak Road/Five Forks: See Bearss's work above, specifically the chapters by William Wyrick on Dinwiddie Court House, White Oak Road, and Five Forks. Bearss did not have writings on these battles (probably because he had his own book dealing with them) so William Wyrick was invited to contribute chapters on these actions. I understand Michael McCarthy has a book-sized work on Five Forks but Wyrick's content is nearly the same and I personally prefer it.

Final Assault on Petersburg: The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion by A. Wilson Greene

Thirty-Six Hours Before Appomattox: The Battles of Sayler's Creek, High Bridge, Farmville and Cumberland Church April 6 and 7, 1865 by Chris Calkins (warning: this is little more than a pamphlet with several illustrations, but it can be found fairly cheap online -- 10 bucks -- and gives a smidge more detail than Calkins' book on the campaign does)

The Battles of Appomattox Station and Appomattox Court House, April 8-9, 1865 by Chris M. Calkins (Calkins is releasing a revised and updated version of this work -- titled "No One Wants to be the Last to Die": The Battles of Appomattox, April 8-9, 1865 -- later this year.

I'll be back in a few days with a separate thread on the Western Front.
 
Thanks for the reading list! I just picked up To the Gates of Richmond by Stephen Sears about the Peninsula Campaign and saw it in your selections. That makes me feel good about reading it so I might have to dive into my new book tonight.
 
Thanks for the reading list! I just picked up To the Gates of Richmond by Stephen Sears about the Peninsula Campaign and saw it in your selections. That makes me feel good about reading it so I might have to dive into my new book tonight.
This looks like it will cover a bit more than just the Peninsula, but you should also put this on your radar: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0700633537/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

From the Mountains to the Bay: The War in Virginia, January-May 1862


From January to July of 1862, the armies and navies of the Union and Confederacy conducted an incredibly complex and remarkably diverse range of operations in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Under the direction of leaders like Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George McClellan, Joseph E. Johnston, John Rodgers, Robert E. Lee, Franklin Buchanan, Irvin McDowell, and Louis M. Goldsborough, men of the Union and Confederate armed forces marched over mountains and through shallow valleys, maneuvered on and along great tidal rivers, bridged and waded their tributaries, battled malarial swamps, dug trenches and constructed fortifications, and advanced and retreated in search of operational and tactical advantage.

In the course of these operations, the North demonstrated it had learned quite a bit from its setbacks of 1861 and was able to achieve significant operational and tactical success on both land and sea. This enabled Union arms to bring a considerable portion of Virginia under Federal control—in some cases temporarily and in others permanently. Indeed, at points during the spring and early summer of 1862, it appeared the North just might succeed in bringing about the defeat of the rebellion before the year was out.

A sweeping study of the operations on land and sea, From the Mountains to the Bay is the only modern scholarly work that looks at the operations that took place in Virginia in early 1862, from the Romney Campaign that opened the year to the naval engagement between the Monitor and Merrimac to the movements and engagements fought by Union and Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley, on the York-James Peninsula, and in northern Virginia, as a single, comprehensive campaign.
 
Back
Top