NF Favorite Civil War Work(s)?

[TallTallMan]

You can name as many as you want, one or a hundred, as long as it's nonfiction.

My favorite is The Civil War Day-by-Day. How anybody survived before its existence baffles me. It is absolutely essential.

Anything by Duane Schultz is worth your time. He is not a historian (psychology professor), but he is truly history like a novel. I enjoy his more than fiction! I have read Month of the Freezing Moon and The Dahlgren Affair. His other CW era books are Over the Earth I come, Quantrill's War, The Most Glorious Fourth, among others.

Others I like are The Civil War: A Narrative; Stonewall Jackson: the Man, the Soldier, the Legend; The Destructive War, The Centennial History of the Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom, and Our Masters the Rebels.

 

[Elliot Crumblemuffin]

My favorite so far has been Co. 'Aytch' by Samuel Watkins . I really enjoyed his storytelling...he sure can spin a good yarn

 

[TallTallMan]

My favorite so far has been Co. 'Aytch' by Samuel Watkins . I really enjoyed his storytelling...he sure can spin a good yarn

Have not read any memoirs yet! That's at the top!

 

[Elliot Crumblemuffin]

Have not read any memoirs yet! That's at the top!

I think, though, maybe SOME portions of the memoirs MIGHT fall under the "fiction" category but don't let that stop you!!

 

[Pollaco]

Shelby Foote's Narrative would make the list.

 

[Sheltowee]

You can name as many as you want, one or a hundred, as long as it's nonfiction.

My favorite is The Civil War Day-by-Day. How anybody survived before its existence baffles me. It is absolutely essential.

Anything by Duane Schultz is worth your time. He is not a historian (psychology professor), but he is truly history like a novel. I enjoy his more than fiction! I have read Month of the Freezing Moon and The Dahlgren Affair. His other CW era books are Over the Earth I come, Quantrill's War, The Most Glorious Fourth, among others.

Others I like are The Civil War: A Narrative; Stonewall Jackson: the Man, the Soldier, the Legend; The Destructive War, The Centennial History of the Civil War, Battle Cry of Freedom, and Our Masters the Rebels.

Month of the Freezing Moon was a good read.

 

[Pollaco]

It is far from the best and I've found a few mistakes so far but the title asked for my favorite. Since Stewart Sifakis' book "Who Was Who in the Civil War" is one of my go-to books, I guess you could call it my favorite.

 

[Sheltowee]

Have not read any memoirs yet! That's at the top!

And the last time I read- it was free on the internet. A must do…..

 

[Kurtlg]

Gordon Rhea's books on the Overland Campaign .

 

[Sheltowee]

Shelby Foote's Narrative would make the list.

Plowing thru volume 1 now. Love the writing/ pace.
But he throws in so many snippets- I find myself having to stop to find more info on every little humorous anecdote and sideline remark.
In a constant tease….

 

[VeronicaLake12]

My first introduction to Civil War reading was Samuel Eliot Morison. In his book The Oxford History Of The American People pages 615 to 704 in the 1965 edition which covered said war captivated me.

 

[Kurtlg]

I would also include Eric Wittenberg's many books and collaborations such as One Continuous Fight , Plenty of Blame to go Around , Protecting the Flank at Gettysburg , The Second Battle of Winchester, etc

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

I will start off slowly since this is not an easy question to answer and I have numerous favorites. Keep in mind I must consider the information contained in the book and the writing style of the author/authors.

 

[Pat Answer]

Too many favorites... let's see:

The Civil War, A Narrative (Foote) is very well written. As with the work "that started it all" for me, The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War (Catton), I fact-check now and then but both remain sheer joys to pass the quiet times with.
I think I learned most from the comprehensive How the North Won: A Military History of the Civil War (Hattaway and Jones),
and Life of Johnny Reb and Life of Billy Yank (Wiley) which I have in a combined volume.

I haven't ever really met an atlas I didn't like, but these days I would move any "Maps of..." book put out by Savas Beatie to the top of the list.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Like the question posed, because it requires individuals to make a thoughtful personal choice - largely subjective, of course.

Within the confines of my own library of Civil War literature, my favorite work is probably 'For Cause & For Country' by Eric Jacobson because of its sheer readability (including flow) and the detailed depth of researched content. (This title also covers the field of Civil War conflict of most interest to me).

 

[Johnny Shafto]

Difficult to pick a favorite but on the short list…
Campaigning With Grant (Annotated) by Horace Porter

 

[Library Lady]

All my favorite pictorial maps from the huge American Heritage New History of the Civil War (narrative by Bruce Catton) in a much more manageable size.

 

[DorwinBlack]

As far as general narratives, the Shelby Foote and Bruce Catton trilogies are both favorites of mine. However, much of my list is related to my personal family history research:

I. Ohio and Ohio Volunteers in the Civil War

"Ohio's War: The Civil War in Documents (Civil War in the Great Interior) - (Christine Dee) Since my CW ancestors were primarily from Ohio, this entry in a series covering several midwestern states (I think there are entries for Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin as well), was of particular interest. Similar to the LOA series of anthologies (The Civil War: Told by Those Who Lived It), but this one is focused on accounts related to the people of Ohio. Anthology of newspaper articles, letters, speeches, etc.

"Military Reminiscences of the Civil War, Volume 1 April 1861-November 1863" - Jacob Dolson Cox
Incredibly detailed and readable account by one of the better political generals (IMO) of the outbreak of the war, his work assisting McClellan in stetting up the Ohio Volunteer forces, and his service commanding Ohio forces in Western Virginia during the first few years of the War.

"History of the 90th Ohio Volunteer Infantry" - H.O. Harden - Includes information about (and a picture!) of my ggg uncle.


II. Accounts of Confederate Prisons (especially Salisbury)

"Lights and Shadows in Confederate Prisons A Personal Experience, 1864-5" - Homer Sprague
An officer's account of capture and confinement at Libby and Salisbury prisons

"Dark days of the rebellion : life in southern military prisons"
An enlisted man's account of capture and confinement at Salisbury prison.

"The secret service, the field, the dungeon, and the escape" - Albert D Richardson
"Junius and Albert's Adventures in the Confederacy" - Peter Carlson
Two books that relate the amazing account of the capture, confinement and escape of two New York Tribune correspondents.

from the blurb for Carlson's book on Amazon: 'Junius Browne and Albert Richardson covered the Civil War for the New York Tribune until Confederates captured them as they tried to sneak past Vicksburg on a hay barge. Shuffled from one Rebel prison to another, they escaped and trekked across the snow-covered Appalachians with the help of slaves and pro-Union bushwhackers. Their amazing, long-forgotten odyssey is one of the great escape stories in American history, packed with drama, courage, horrors and heroics, plus moments of antic comedy.'

 

[Pat Answer]

All my favorite pictorial maps from the huge American Heritage New History of the Civil War (narrative by Bruce Catton) in a much more manageable size.

View attachment 481250

Those maps inspired hours of toy soldiering way back when. It's not a stretch to say they are why I'm in this forum today.

 

[Little Mac]

As far as general narratives, the Shelby Foote and Bruce Catton trilogies are both favorites of mine. However, much of my list is related to my personal family history research:
"The secret service, the field, the dungeon, and the escape" - Albert D Richardson

I bought a first edition of this book a few months ago. It's encouraging to see it on your list. I haven't gotten to it yet, but am excited to read it. May I ask why you included it in your favorites?