I need help on where to start.

[KrunchyNacho]

Good day, I am a sophomore in high school and have a huge interest in the Civil War. What sparked my interest in the Civil War was my Grandfather. He was a major Civil War buff, but no one else in my family really cared. They were all worried about who had the lowest body fat or who has the highest paying job. Then, when my mother was in labor I had to stay with him. I remember staying up all night by the fire, my grandfather telling me stories of Gettysburg and Shiloh and all these amazing battles in history. Since that night I have always wanted to study the Civil War but don't know where to start. He passed away six months ago and I decided I want to carry on his love for history. My problem was I didn't know where to start. Then, when I inquired about this problem on other sites, they say to understand and fully appreciate the Civil War I need to study the Revolution first. I already have a general knowledge of the Revolution from school and I'm taking a US History course this year. How deep do I need to go into the Revolution for me to fully appreciate the Civil War? I already have a few Civil War books picked out to buy such as McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom, The Impending Crisis, and Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative. So my questions are 1) how deep a knowledge of the Revolution must I have to fully appreciate the Civil War and 2) what are some really good books about the Civil War? Thank you for your time and have a lovely day!

 

[15thAlabamaInfantryUnit]

Some will say you have to know everything about the Revolution to appreciate the Civil War. You really don't when it comes to knowing a lot about the Civil War. A great place to start is how the Civil War started and how it ended so you can compare the solutions and problems that were made in between. The best place to start learning more is to read about battles, read diaries and memoirs to find out what happened in a daily life of a soldier or civilian. I'll try to find some good books, diaries, and memoirs for you to read up on if I get the chance. I may be young but I've been reenacting for 4 or 5 years and have been studying the Civil War for about 6 years.

 

[truthckr]

Welcome! This forum is a great place to start. We have members with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, if you read the posts you'll surely learn a lot in a short time. It would be hard to recommend one or two good books to start with. Personally, I recommend finding Ken Burns "The Civil War" DVD's and viewing that to start.

 

[captaindrew]

Welcome to the forum, check out the book and movie review forum on here, maybe you'll see something that interests you. If you have any questions there's lots of great folks right here that will be happy to help. As far as the Rev war goes I think it's important and all the events leading up to the Civil War are important to understanding our history.

 

[General Butterfield]

Welcome to the forum, I'm a few years older than you are. I like military history so for me what helped most was getting a good civil war atlas. I would also recommend trying a biography of any person that appeals to you.

 

[chucksr]

I don't think you need to know "everything" about the Revolution to gain insight on the Civil War. My suggestion would to start your study with the Missouri Compromise of 1822 and the Nullification Crises that followed. Understand how western expansion created the conflicts that led to secession. Understand how the election of Lincoln in 1860 became the final straw--understand the issues surrounding that election.
At the same time, read those great general studies on the great battles of the war. Read Sword, Cozzin, Foote, etc. to keep you entertained while you grind thru the causes.
Matter of fact, you can delay the causes and just read the histories of the battles and let that be the focus of your study. Eventually you can focus on causation if that interests you. I'm thinking most of us have come to the Civil War thru reading about the actual war itself, the battles, the foes, the strategies, the personalities of the officers and men. That's a fine way to proceed. Stay on this site, read the forums that interest you, many, if not most, discussions are quite informative and knowledgeable and you will pick up a lot of really good info here.
Finally, take all the advice about how "get into" the Civil War with a grain of salt--there is no one way. All you have to do is appreciate the conflict, the soldiers who fought so hard on both sides, and the inevitable grinding down of the dream of secession and independence from the Union.
Your pace should be at the rate of how much fun you are having. If that sounds piecemeal then it's probably because I started the same study when I was a couple of years older than you and my "learning" was one piece of the puzzle at a time.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Hello @KrunchyNacho, welcome to CivilWarTalk.

Welcome! This forum is a great place to start. We have members with diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, if you read the posts you'll surely learn a lot in a short time. It would be hard to recommend one or two good books to start with. Personally, I recommend finding Ken Burns "The Civil War" DVD's and viewing that to start.

I agree with truthckr 100%.

 

[Albert Sailhorst]

I agree: watch Ken Burns' "Civil War".....
A good "quick read" is Bruce Catton's "Reflections of the Civil War"....
There are many more and your library and reading list will grow!
A bit of advice: to overwhelm yourself. Start "small" and work your way up. Don't worry too much about the Revolution, as I suspect you already know enough about it to understand the Civil War.
There is way more than I can list, but go at your own pace and study the parts that spark your interest!
Good luck!

 

[GELongstreet]

Welcome from Germany. We have many extremely knowledgable people here with decades over decades of studying the civil war and I think all would agree to not know everyting. I´m not sure about the appreciation thing and personally knew rather little about the revolution when my studies began but then of course I´m not the usual ACW enthusiast either. I´d say just take your time and read whatever doesn´t bore you; you have a whole life left to learn. And, the obvious thing, stay active here on CWT because it is an awesome place to be, develop and improve.

 

[major bill]

Hello and welcome to the forum. You can enjoy studying the Civil War without studying the American Revolution. I would suggest studying the Revolution is you want to understand the underlying causes of the Civil War. However we have people who study Civil War battles and these people do not overly care about the political aspects of the Civil War. We have people who specialize in studying Civil War arms or uniforms.

I would suggest you start by studying things you enjoy. If you enjoy politics, then read about Civil War politics. If you just love the battles, study the battles. If you start out on subject you enjoy you will have fun and can always branch out latter when what you enjoy starts getting old. Studying Civil War Generals and their battles might be right up your alley.

 

[Greywolf]

Welcome. You can also find many civil war battle walks, talks, lectures by various historians, etc. online. I would urge you to read, watch, and study the battles with your own eye before formulating your own opinion. Don't rely on one historian or one book to formulate your opinion, be well rounded.

 

[highplainsdrifter59]

Welcome aboard,
I think start with what your grandfather had, that in itself will connect you to the person who inspired you to be interested in the Civil War.
Second, if you live in an area where a battle was fought or a National Park is, visit it.
Third, find something that interest you. Try to just begin small and work outward from there. Since you are in High School, talk to your history teacher or maybe your librarian what books are available.
Of course you have a research engine called the Internet to seek out things which you may enjoy.
Again, work small then up. I'm not much on starting at the Revolutionary War, that will not be the Civil War. Once you start finding needed answers then reach out to those things. Right now....keep it simple and fun.

 

[Deleted User CS]

Welcome from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I would start with McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom and then read Bruce Catton's Army of the Potomac trilogy and then branch out from there. David.

 

[LoriAnn]

I'm sorry to hear your grandfather has passed. Safe journey to him.

I like the recommendation to start with the Ken Burns series. It was so well done. That said, whatever path you choose to take first, just make sure it's a fun one. That will be the right one.

Welcome.

 

[William G Hendry]

Hello and welcome from Ont. Canada.

 

[mofederal]

Hello and welcome to the talk from Southeast Missouri.

 

[Patrick H]

Hi and welcome. I agree it's a big area of history and it seems daunting. Don't try to absorb the whole thing at once. Just find a small part of it that seems interesting and begin to learn about that. Branch out from there. For example, I live in Missouri, so I'm interested in the guerrilla / bushwhacker war. I don't care about the big Eastern battles. I try to absorb what happened right here in my own neighborhood. I'm not suggesting you study what I study, but find an aspect of the war that fascinates you, and begin to study that aspect. Then branch out. Welcome!

 

[John Hartwell]

You need to start with a general, easy overview of the whole war, and broaden out from there as you go along.

Ken Burns' The Civil War documentary is an excellent introduction, and very accessible -- it has lots of those little stories that can so easily grab your interest.

McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom is superb, but it is a big, fairly detailed book ... perhaps not the best introduction. Bruce Catton's books are authoritative, and easy reading as well.' (Reflections on the CW is a great place to start)

You're still at a fairly early, 'introductory level,' go to the library and pick out some well illustrated material. The book published to go along with Ken Burns' video series is a good choice. Or the American Heritage civil war books, or Time-Life series. Don't try to start off too "in depth," that can be discouraging. There's plenty of time.

@chucksr's "Your pace should be at the rate of how much fun you are having," is right-on!

And, by the way,

 

[Bruce Vail]

You need to start with a general, easy overview of the whole war, and broaden out from there as you go along.

Ken Burns' The Civil War documentary is an excellent introduction, and very accessible -- it has lots of those little stories that can so easily grab your interest.

View attachment 155970 McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom is superb, but it is a big, fairly detailed book ... perhaps not the best introduction. Bruce Catton's books are authoritative, and easy reading as well.' (Reflections on the CW is a great place to start)

You're still at a fairly early, 'introductory level,' go to the library and pick out some well illustrated material. The book published to go along with Ken Burns' video series is a good choice. Or the American Heritage civil war books, or Time-Life series. Don't try to start off too "in depth," that can be discouraging. There's plenty of time.

@chucksr's "Your pace should be at the rate of how much fun you are having," is right-on!View attachment 155971

And, by the way,

View attachment 155969​

"You're still at a fairly early, 'introductory level,' go to the library and pick out some well illustrated material. The book published to go along with Ken Burns' video series is a good choice. Or the American Heritage civil war books, or Time-Life series. Don't try to start off too "in depth," that can be discouraging. There's plenty of time."

Good advice.

And there is no substitute for site visits. Battlefield parks, museums, art galleries, etc....These visits will help you define your areas of special interest.

 

[JOHN42768]

Welcome, enjoy