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
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