Your favourite Civil War book?

I own a battered original copy of Hardtack and coffee dating from 1888, an excellent primer about a common Union soldier's life during the Civil War written with wit and and somewhat a rosy recollection.

As the title indicates, food, drink and creature comforts play an important role. You also learn about soldiering, the different corps insignia and army mules and, and, and ... A great addition to any Civil War library.

For me, without a doubt, it's The Killer Angels. I'm not that big a fan of historial fiction, but the more Civil War history I read the more I have to recognize that somehow Shaara managed to capture a usuable past that does justice to both sides. I don't even have to read the novel, it just levitates in my mind.

I know you probably meant history or analysis of the war--but the first two books that leapt to my mind when I read this question were The Unvanquished by William Faulkner and a collection of Matthew Brady's photographs. That novel is as approachable as anything Faulkner ever wrote; it's one in which he relied heavily on his own family history, and it is rich with the aura of the Old South. It is one of his saddest and funniest stories, a perfect antidote to the Gone With the Wind myth.

Shrike58, I was also blown away by the force of the Killer Angels, reading it was a kind of guilty pleasure just as a James Clavell novel.

Laytonwoman3rd, I love your covered bridge picture. As a European urban creature, Faulkner and his world are very distant and difficult for me to understand. I actually did not manage to finish some of his novels I started, something I seldom do.

Based on your recommendation and what I read at Amazon, I have added the book to my much too long reading wishlist (still tracked as a txt file, Tim are you listening?).

I too am a fan of The Killer Angels but my favorite reference book would be Bruce Catton's The Civil War - though I admit not to being as well versed on the subject as I would like.

Just had a look at my ACW books on LibraryThing, and my two highest rated books are
Champion Hill: a decisive battle for Vicksburg, a superb look at the decisive battle in the decisive campaign of the war (and great maps too!)
and Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War which I don't think many members of the group need an introducion to.

I find it amazing that two of the best works of war fiction, Red Badge of Courage and The Killer Angels, were written by non-combatants. Crane's inspiration came from reading magazines abou the Civil War while lazing on his friend's couch.

Hmmm....I would suggest having a look at Ambrose Bierce, he only worked in the short form, but he was both a combatant and a fine writer of fiction.

Fiction: Killer Angels of course; non-fiction: Porter Alexander's Fighting for the Confederacy is hard to beat although I love Liddell's Record because it speaks to me personally.

Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz, while not a history or account of the war per se, is a terrific read for anyone interested in the conflict and its legacy.

The night inspector by Frederick Busch is excellent ... it's actually set just after the war but does use flashbacks for a number of gripping war scenes ... the main character is a Civil War sniper who received gruesome facial injuries during the fighting ... also, although I haven't read it yet, The year of jubilo by Howard Bahr is supposed to be quite good.

I would have to disagree with your account of "Confederates in the Attic." It is a book that reveals only what is expected to be revealed. The people in the book are mostly drawn from old TV stories and stereotypes of southerners. See if you can identify his interviewees with Uncle Jesse, Daisy Mae, Granny Clampett, Earthquake Magoon, Ike Godsey, etc.
Any black that agreed with him was sauve, articulate and sophisticated. Any black who disagreed with the author was an old handkerchief head.
His concept of reenactors and "Wargasm" is obscene and is an assault on the NPS protection of battlefields from vandals and fools.
The only good question asked in the book wasn't really answered- "Why had a pro-Union county in KY adopted a pro-Confederate history to the point that the local people thought their county had always been pro-Confederate?"
As a reporter, Horowitz saw only what he expected to see, and really didn't do any introspection or inquiry into the whys and wherefores. This is why news reporters shouldn't write books- they report on what is seen, and do not give an analysis and personal introspection to their observations. Great for short news stories- a bore in books.

Among my favorites is McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" because it's one of the most readable histories of the whole war, in one volume, that I've ever found.

My favorite is Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant. This is a very good book that happens to be about the civil war. The only problem with Grant's analysis is that he never lost a battle. When I read the book I think of the picture of Grant on the porch all covered up trying to finish before he died. I have read a lot about him and he was a true hero to the people who followed him. I recommend the Library of America edition.

I second Grant's Memoirs and Battle Cry of Freedom and I would add McPherson's For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War.

I found Shelby Foote's three-volume Civil War: A Narrative to be indispensable.

I think that any book about Gettysburg is probaly one of the best books that I have ever read. It was the greatest battle of the civil war.I may be partial to Gettysburg because I live about 50miles away and enjoy going to the battlefield 3 or 4 times a year.I read about it and then I go to see history come alive for me there.

Co. Aytch, by Sam Watkins is a great book written from the perspective of a confederate private caught up in war fever at the beginning , but then tempered by four years of service. The last chapter is hard to beat.

Hard to choose, there are so many good ones--but Shelby Foote's 3 volume series The Civil War: A Narrative is tops for me. Closely followed by Coddington's The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command and Sherman's Memoirs and..and..choices, choices!

And the book that started me off on a lifetime of fascination with the Civil War--Steven Vincent Benet's poem John Brown's Body.

I have become a great fan of Howard Bahr I highly recomend any of his 3 books re. the civil war; Year in Jubilo, The Black Flower: A novel of the Civil War and the Judas Field.

James M. McPherson's "For Cause & Comrades", John Marszalek's "Sherman, A Soldier's Passion for Order", and then, Charles's Royster's "The Destructive War".

i can only second the recommendation of Howard Bahr's books -- very lyrical prose throughout and battle scenes that could have been penned by Ambrose Bierce.

My favorite Civil War work is the non-fiction LANDSCAPE TURNED RED by Stephen W. Sears which describes the mistakes made by Union General George B. McClellan, commanding the Army of the Potomac. While an excellent organizer and trainer, in the field he had, as Gen. Lee put it, 'A bad case of the Slows'. He had a good chance to catch the Army of Northern Virginia scattered and to defeat them in detail, but lost an entire day even after recovering Gen. Lee's orders on when and where he would concentrate his Army to engage the Yankees. At least he had the insight to recognize that the objective was not to capture Rebel cities or territory, but to destroy the Rebel army itself and thus render the Rebel territory all but defenseless. Fortunately for the Rebels, he decided to abandon pursuit of them after the battle to lick his wounds and reorganize his army. After two months of inactivity President Lincoln relieved him of command.

My favorite Civil War work is Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War by G. F. R. Henderson, Lieut.-Col., C.B.
I have the "original" boxed, 2 vol. set. Henderson's insights into Jackson and his analysis of the battles that Jackson was involved in balances out the work by Robertson.
My other favorite work on the Civil War is Freeman's biography on Lee and on Lee's Lieutenants.

A History of Morgan's Cavalry by Basil Duke. duke wrote this almost 40 years after the war, but he makes it feel like yesterday. He was John Hunt Morgan's 2nd. in command of the 2nd. KY cavalry & became commander when Morgan was killed. He writes of the Ohio Raid, their capture & brief stay at Johnson's Island & longer stay at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus. A reprint of this book was done by the Bluegrass Historical Society in the early 1960's for the l00th. anniversary, the original is from 1903 & hard to find.

Another good memoir is Co. Haitch & With Lee in Virginia& fiction is The Killer Angels & yes, GWTW - the war parts are based on Ms. Mitchell's family memoirs.

Sorry, but I don't agree with you (hadden #16).

Old handkerchief heads if they don't agree with him? I guess I haven't gotten far enough in the book to read that.

I thought Horwitz's background was uniquely suited to giving a good survey of the war. People who are passionate - about being re-enactors or whatever - are not like everyone else. I think it's interesting to read about people, when they're written about in such great prose as Tony Horwitz's.

I agree very much with #29. Horwitz's book is funny, clever, and honest. He loves quirky behavior and finds a great deal of it. I lived 12 years of my adult life in the South, and Southerners, even the kinds of Southern liberals that I worked with, have their own perspective on the Civil War. That perspective can seem quite strange to outsiders.

As to the question about Kentuckians forgetting that their locality supported the Union, the same thing has happened in parts of north Arkansas. I believe the most fundamental causes of this change are a combination of racism mixed with provincialism.

Kentucky was divided between joining th Confederacy or remaining in the Union. The division was largely geographic, the mountain counties like those in Virginia that became W. VA were for the Union as they had little in common with the large farmers of the central "Bluegrass" region & those counties along the Ohio river south of Cincinnati. There was a large German settlement around Brandenberg that was pro-union but it was surrounded by slave-holding estates.
Many families had members who fought on both sides, the expression "Brother against Brother" was literally true. After the war, many of those who had fought for the South left KY & settled in the west rather than go home again. Even in the appalachians where most were pro-union, there were division & feuds originiated or were exacerbated that lasted well into the 20th. century.

I loved Company Aytch and Killer Angels, and Hardtack and Coffee is on my TBR list.

Another book that I recently finished and REALLY liked was Now the Drum of War: Walt Whitman and his brothers in the Civil War. It was very insightful. Not only did it talk about the DC hospitals, but provided me with an excellent backdrop to the war. I had no idea, for example, that shortly before the war there was a big housing bust. Nor that Walt's brother was a war hero. (He was one of those guys who managed to survive innumerous battles.

In any case, if you are interested I'm having a book give-away of Now the Drum of War on me blog. Just goofy, fun. You don't have to leap through hoops. Just leave a way to contact you. This forum and your name (if there's no threat of you being confused with someone else would suffice)

http://www.pageinhistory.com

I concur with Pam RE "Company Aytch" & "Killer Angels" and (#23) with macstomes RE Howard Bahr, I've loved his three civil war books. Additionally, let me recommend Woe to Live On ...A little classic of Civil War guerrilla warfare in Kansas/Missouri, one of the best works of historical fiction that I own. This novel provided the screenplay for Ang Lee's very authentic, 'Ride With the Devil'... with Tobey Macquire & Jewel. Both book and film capture the atmosphere and dialog of the era. Not an easy to find book but well worth the search.

Civil War Recipes without a doubt! These are taken from the pages of Godey's. Even the style is fun to read.

Eggs and Cheese

"This dish is particularly suitable to invalids and children who are not of an age to masticate their food."

Another favorite that I imagine is an important companion in any of my characters' kitchens, though not Civil War specifically, is The American Frugal Housewife.

I found 'Gettysburg--Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill' to be poignant, as a native Marylander, because it was one of the few places that Maryland units, not just individuals, fought face to face. The Md. Union units on Culp's Hill were assaulted by Md. Confederate units climbing the hill from the east, while Rebel Md. artillery shelled them from a distance. It is known that two cousins were on opposite sides in this assault, so it is entirely possible that the Union Army cousin was shooting directly at his Confederate cousin during the attacks.
For those who wish to see the war as a more immediate event, the continuous trenches dug by the Union forces on Culp's Hill are still there, although only about a foot deep now and being filled by new trees. This is one of the few places on the battlefield that any physical objects created during the battle are still visible.
It occurred to me to volunteer to remove the smaller trees myself, but then I realized that liability concerns would preclude that. I still would like to see the trees removed from the trenches anyway.
There are monuments to both Union and Confederate Maryland units on the hill. If you go behind one of the Confederate monuments and see a Rebel flag out of sight of the road, that will be my work. The Nat. Park Service always removes unauthorized decorations, and no private decorations are permitted.
One other point that few people know about the Gettysburg battlefield is that the artillery pieces there, and there are a great many of them, are the actual guns used during the battle at those positions in July of 1863. This is another physical connection with those dramatic days.
Few people know that the best preserved Civil War battlefield in the nation is only an hour's drive away near Sharpsburg MD. It is the Antietam Battlefield south of Hagarstown MD. Maryland Rt. 65 runs through the battlefield and past the visitor center. It is definitely worth a visit. Even the town of Sharpsburg is little changed since 1863.

Many of my favorites have been mentioned already here -- Company Aytch, and Howard Bahr's Civil War novels. Bahr's prose is beautiful. A Distant Flame was very good -- told from the perspective of a Confederate sharpshooter. I just finished Foote's short novel Shiloh -- it was very good -- each chapter told from the perspective of a different character (historically real) -- everyone from Johnston's aide de camp to a Mississippi infantryman. I've also read Confederates in the Attic but I guess I'll withhold comment! The dialogue is interesting.

I write about Civil War Arkansas. Two of my novels, Where the Road Begins and A Difference of Opinion and my documentary Tattered Glory are currently being used as curriculum in Arkansas high schools. Don't let that be off-putting. The novels are getting great reviews and are good reads as well as being educational. Hope you Civil War buffs will check them out, as well as my web www.nancydane.com

I couldn't possibly choose a favorite Civil War book. My favorite is usually whichever I'm reading at the moment. I might add, however, that if you're interested in Grant, as several folks here appear to be, the best Grant biography I've ever read is titled simply "Grant," by Jean Edward Smith. Smith is very thorough in the treatment of his subject, well researched, and includes information about U.S. Grant's presidency. (He was a much better president than he has been given credit for being).

It has to be James Robertson's "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend" by far.

Shelby Foote's trilogy of the Civil War. It is narrative in style, but also in-depth, accurate and heroic in its treatment and analysis of events and characters.

That is tough to say, but I'm going to add "Abraham Lincoln: A Biography" by Ronald C. White Jr. is my current favorite. I guess one can say it is not really a "Civil War" book, but I consider it so.

Grant and Sherman was a fantastic book - much better than I expected. I only say that because there were about 10 of them at Half Price Books and I always wonder when they have that many copies of a book, but this one did not disappoint.

Iʻm not a heavy reader of Civil war non-fiction, still less of its fiction. But I have looked into some works in the decades since reading Bruce Cattonʻs Glory Road --one of a series (of 5?) which is held, together, I think, by focussing on the Unionʻs Army of the Potomac, and nothing* else comes to mind that gripped me more, and seemingly put me right into the battle, and awaiting-battle ambience.

* not even the published version of my great-grandfatherʻs diary and newspaper letters, Three Years a Soldier by George Perkins; I had, however read the hand-written version of the diary earlier.

There are so many excellent Civil War books that it is difficult to specify only one.

I agree with those who recommended The Battle Cry of Freedom. I would also recommend Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which considers the political dimension of Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War, Marching Through Georgia by Lee Kennett (Sherman's march, if you had any doubts), and Flawed Victory by William L. Barney.

Rebel Private Front and Rear by Fletcher who fought in Hood's Texas Brigade. Margaret Mitchell used this book when writing Gone with the Wind. Written by a private who called it as he saw it and left out the flowery prose of the Lost Cause. In the same vein is another book called Confederate Chaplain by Father Sheeran who served from Louisiana.

>45 Marylandreb:, thanks for these book titles. Would Rebel Private: Front and Rear be accessible to a 15yo who's not read anything about the Civil War?

I am a Canadian and first came to read Civil War history when I came upon a copy of Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil War, by the British historian G.F.R. Henderson. This got me reading more, and I now have an extensive collection - not all on Library Thing - and have been to Gettysburg four times. As a survey of the war, Battle Cry of Freedom cannot be beat. Lee's Lieutenants, Freeman, provide an excellent study in command, and Shelby Foote's trilogy Civil War is a wonderful read.

Now I'm trying to remember where I heard of The Hunt for Confederate Gold by Thomas Moore. It's quite an exciting read - back and forth between the present and the last days of the war. The present is an ex-soldier writing his dissertation on events of the Civil War; the past is those actual events. I'm in Colorado - the only library which had a copy to loan was in Virginia!

I'm also reading Rebel Private: Front and Rear.

John Waugh's "Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox" is excellent.

Try 'LANDSCAPE TURNED RED', it's a crackerjack read. Some have called it one of the best military history books ever written.

I just took a Civil War class and wrote a paper after reading Hidden in Plain Sight: A Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad. I found it fascinating, but then I'm a quilter.

I also read Gray Ghosts of the Confederacy: Guerilla Warfare in the West 1861-1865 which tells of the border ruffians. Very very interesting.

No, SaintSunniva, it would not, unless your kid's a genius who happens to be fond of the literature of the era. Fletcher's prose is horribly dense Victorian in style and hardly accessible to me with four degrees post-high-school and over three decades in practice of a profession noted for tangled thickets of prose.

Fletcher's third sentence, for example, contains 227 words, with 10 commas, two semicolons, and six conjunctions. Once your 15-y-o had waded through that successfully, she'd still have 211 pages to go. Personally, I'm finding the prospect daunting.

I'm sure she or he would much prefer Co. Aytch.

Thanks for the great list. I really need to read some more about the American Civil War and you have all given me great suggestions.

#31 To illustrate your point let me say that my grandfather, born in Lewis County Kentucky in 1904 was named Sherman Lee Crawford because of his grandparents differing views.

>49 ron415: That's great news! I picked that up at a used book sale for $.50. It's on my shelf waiting for me - maybe I'll move it up the list.

I have no connection to nandane >55 nandane:, but wonder why her post was flagged. Is it not allowed for authors who are on LibraryThing to bring their work to the attention of readers who may be interested in it?

docwood >52 DocWood:, thank you for recommending Co. Aytch.

I didn't get Rebel Private: Front and Rear finished, but didn't find it unreadable either. (What my son ended up reading for his AP US History class, I no longer recall.)

Funny coincidence, but I'm in Charleston, SC on the 150th anniversary of the battle for Ft. Sumter. And had no idea of this week's significance until I started seeing Civil War reinactors on the plane.

Still to come....cannon barrage in the early morning hours tomorrow or the next day.

56 From the Terms of Use:

LibraryThing is not an advertising medium. Egregious commercial solicitation is forbidden. No matter how great your novel, this does apply to authors. (See Tips and Guidelines for Authors.)

A lot of people here interpret that very strictly. I haven't read the flagged post so I don't really know how appropriate the flags are in this case.

(I hope I coded the links correctly; it's not something I do frequently.)

57 Many suggest that Sam Watkins embellished quite a few things in his book and while an enjoyable read, one need to take caution when suggesting Co Aytch. Glad you didn't find "Rebel Private Front and Rear" hard to read. I'm not one to argue as everyone is entitled to their opinion, but still insist it's one of my favorites. :)

MacKinlay Kantor's Andersonville and Long Remember are also excellent reads. Surprised that no one has mentioned Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.

I have a beat up copy of Camp Fire Chats of the Civil War from 1888 by Washington Davis. Lovely prints, great stories of what camp was like by the soldiers, no great revelations, but told in a romanticised way of the era. The end papers of the book are a wonderful design with cotton buds. One of my favorite stories is about making "Flap Jacks" with what they thought was stolen flour but ended up being plaster of paris. Only paid $5 for it.

Shelby Foote's The Civil War - Definitely.

They are so many excellent histories...but the one that started my lifetime quest in Civil War history was Bruce Catton's Stillness at Appomattox. The war was given a human face by his writing.

". . .the one that started my lifetime quest."

In my case, too, it was a Catton title:

Glory Road (One of his Army of the Potomac series

I am coming in late, but felt I had to add a comment. It is, I think, impossible to really pick one "favorite" book about the American Civil War. One of the early posters said that their favorite was the "one they were reading at the time," and I think this is probably the best answer. Are we talking about favorite battle book, favorite diary, favorite person? That is why I think it is difficult to choose. When someone who is not familiar with the American Civil War asks, I always suggest McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom." It is a great survey book that will take the reader from the earliest "rumblings" to reconstruction.

I just finished Margaret Leech's Reveille in Washington 1860-1865. Very beautifully written. It's about the the development of Washington and its fascinating characters during the Civil War. I highly recommend it. This is my new favorite (for the time being) until I get caught up in another.

It sure is hard to pick a favorite, but one that I always go back to would be Shelby Foote's Civil War: A Narrative multi-volume work. Each volume is just full of literary gems that I have yet found equaled on that scale. but they are a few of many that I really enjoy.

67 I think I agree with you on that. The Foote trilogy is just classic.

I love a lot of the books mentioned but there's just something lyrical about Catton. Foote affects me in a similar way. I look forward to reading Caine at Gettysburg, which I have on my nook but haven't been able to get to yet. Some people say it's on a par with Killer Angels and I loved that.

My favourite Civil War book, in all genres, was Mackinlay Kantor's "Long Remember", a masterly novel of Gettysburg. The title comes from the Address "The World will little note, nor long remember what is said here today.."
Non-fiction, I'm hanging in with Bruce Catton's history of the Army of the Potomac.

The Grand Design : Strategy and the U.S. Civil War by Donald Stoker. A history of the Civil War from the point of view of strategy, originally material for a military training class on strategy. Brilliant analysis and critique of the strategic strengths and weaknesses of both armies throughout the war, including discussions of strategic capabilities and failings of the principal commanders. Little or no social background, minimal politics. Just straightforward military history.

This is a tough question because there are so many good books, but I guess my favorite would be The Passing of the Armies, by Joshua L. Chamberlain. His descriptions of the surrender of Lee's armies and reminiscences of the units and battles fought while observing the Grand Parade in Washington after the war really captured my imagination. As a side note, my introduction to Chamberlain, of course, was through the best Civil War novel, I believe, The Killer Angels.

Have y'all seen the recent edition done by his granddaughter, which has notes he wrote in the margins of his copy, probably as he talked to old comrades and recounted events. I haven't talked to her, but it sounded fascinating. Also, if you can listen to the song, "Along the Kennesaw Line" by Bobby Horton (probably on youtube), it is based on Sam's view of the battle and the death of a friend.

I agree, those are among the best of the best...highly recommended!

The author's granddaughter found his original copy with notes added in the years following its publication. She published an edition with the notes added. This could add some interesting information which was acquired from letters received from comrades and from attending reunions. There were a few copies left at the Sons of Confederate Veterans bookstore.

Freeman's books are excellent, and considered the epitome of writing on the subject. Henderson is very good, and I also like James 'Bud' Robertson's works on Stonewall. He is a great speaker if you get a chance to hear him. His work with National Geographic, which is titled Unknown Civil War, I believe, should be fantastic. He was able to search archives and find pictures that haven't been published before. I also like the books by Burke Davis on Lee, Jackson and Stuart.

East Tennessee was also divided. Urban areas were more Confederate oriented, while the mountains and backwoods were mostly Union, though they tried to stay out of the fight as much as possible. Making it from year to year was enough of a struggle.
Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland would probably have gone for the Confederacy as did Virginia, but invasion made it hard to hold legal elections.

I read a delightful book Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife by William Potter. The love for his wife really showed in the correspondence, but the letters also referenced his experiences in the Confederate army.

>77 MasonTaylor:

Kentucky, Missouri, and Maryland would probably have gone for the Confederacy as did Virginia, but invasion made it hard to hold legal elections.

Yeah. No.

OP: Reveille in Washington by Margaret Leech.

Just had this group suggested to me by LT, and I'll gladly join! Like so many others above, my all-time favorite ACW book is The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara. I also rate Bruce Catton's Army of the Potomac 3-book series, and I revisit Shelby Foote's magnum opus often for facts & details.

>81 BookDoc16: I recently found Foote's book and bought it for my dh: he is a big Civil War buff, and we both enjoy watching the PBS series The Civil War.