memphis
Cadet
- Joined
- May 31, 2005
- Location
- Rockland County, NY
Lastcat, you are definitely doing yourself a disservice by not reading up on the war. Yes the internet is good, yes, Ken Burns series is ok. Personally, I liked Danny Glover's Civil War Journal better. He went into much greater detail. I'm not crazy about his politics today. But he did a good job moderating the episodes when they were published.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of Shelby Foote. I do like James I. Roberston and Bruce Catton. James McPherson is ok but he can get kind of snobby. Personally, I like to read the journals that were published by the men who fought the war. Some of the time worn classics are:
Minutae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia
by Carlton McCarthy - A bit romantic but good vignettes of camp & on the march.
Hard Tack & Coffee by John D. Billings Not as romantic as McCarthy but very good in the average life department.
Memoirs of Service Afloat by Raphael Semmes. A good read by the Caotain of the Alabama.
U.S. Grant autobiography 4 volumes.
Gone For a soldier Alfred Bellard 2nd NJ Light Artillery.
13 Months in the Rebel Army by William G. Stephenson. Excellent account by an impressed New Yorker who served in the CSA in the western theater
Passing of the Armies by Joshua L. Chamberlain
Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade by John O. Casler. This is a great memoir by a misfit of a soldier. Not a typical memoir at all.
Four Years with General Lee by Walter Taylor an intimate account of Taylor's staffing duties with General Lee.
But my favorite book of all that sets the stage for all these guys is a really really good read called The Class of 1846 by John Waugh. He follows the pre Civil War careers of this class and lays the foundation of the struggle of 1861. Studys the officers on both sides before they became famous Civil War personalities.
Memphis
Personally, I'm not a big fan of Shelby Foote. I do like James I. Roberston and Bruce Catton. James McPherson is ok but he can get kind of snobby. Personally, I like to read the journals that were published by the men who fought the war. Some of the time worn classics are:
Minutae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia
by Carlton McCarthy - A bit romantic but good vignettes of camp & on the march.
Hard Tack & Coffee by John D. Billings Not as romantic as McCarthy but very good in the average life department.
Memoirs of Service Afloat by Raphael Semmes. A good read by the Caotain of the Alabama.
U.S. Grant autobiography 4 volumes.
Gone For a soldier Alfred Bellard 2nd NJ Light Artillery.
13 Months in the Rebel Army by William G. Stephenson. Excellent account by an impressed New Yorker who served in the CSA in the western theater
Passing of the Armies by Joshua L. Chamberlain
Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade by John O. Casler. This is a great memoir by a misfit of a soldier. Not a typical memoir at all.
Four Years with General Lee by Walter Taylor an intimate account of Taylor's staffing duties with General Lee.
But my favorite book of all that sets the stage for all these guys is a really really good read called The Class of 1846 by John Waugh. He follows the pre Civil War careers of this class and lays the foundation of the struggle of 1861. Studys the officers on both sides before they became famous Civil War personalities.
Memphis