Nevertheless, the books on this list are, indeed, my alltime favorites. The civil war took place not just on the battlefield, not just on the home front between different classes of whites, but even within slave owning householdsbetween women and their servants, between owners and their supposed property within the context of everyday life. Few households, whether slave or free, or located in the tidewater, piedmont, or mountainous southwest, could remain insulated from a war fought on their lands and in their towns. The civil war chronicles book series is a wonderful series of historical fiction, military fiction, civil war, thriller, and english war stories. It consists of 6 novels and 2 novellas published between 2010 and 2015. See the complete voices of the civil war series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles.
Soldiers on the go national museum of civil war medicine. When antislavery candidate abraham lincoln was elected president 1860, the southern states seceded. The civil war book series oclc 20080930 chronicles in great detail the american civil. Daily life in the civil war north, peter john brownlee, sarah burns, diane dillon, daniel greene, and scott manning stevens is published by university of chicago press. Most people lived and worked on farms for their entire lives. Life of the civil war soldier in the army american. A collection of short stories, books, essays, speeches, letters, and poems that concern themselves with the american civil war 1861 1865. The civil war, the awardwinning film produced and directed by ken burns, was rebroadcast as a newly restored, highdefinition version in september of 2015. The union had blockaded many of the ports of the south, causing shortages of food and other items that people needed.
The war begins, first blood civil war, the blockade. Theres definitely no shortage of books about the american civil war. The 12 most essential civil war books americas military. The series consists of the gettysburg trilogy and the standalone novel the battle of the crater. Author james mcpherson examines the economic, political, and. Thus, union forces had to conquer the south in order to win the war. Timelife books the old west series complete 26 volume set. The south during the civil war american memory timeline. Confederate artillerist porter alexanders memoir would be a close second. The idea that the civil war was some sort of a morality play about freeing southern slaves is an ideological distortion that obfuscates many of the atrocities that occurred during and after the war. His books include everyday life during the civil war writers digest books, 1999 and fire and ice.
They had to deal with hunger, bad weather, poor clothing, and even boredom between battles. His heartfelt observation of life in wartime washington made its way into poems, and he also wrote articles for newspapers and a number of notebook entries only published decades later. This exceptional book will be applauded by writers, students, historians and casual readers alike. Their letters and diaries are important for historians to learn more about the everyday life of a soldier during the civil war. Hsps collections provide an exceptional source of womens writings during the civil war years.
The best civil war books of all time analysis civil. Full audio books for everyone earns money off of the above links. Thus the perennial popularity of books about the civil war. Civil war on sunday magic tree house series by mary pope. There are several broad categories of civil war book, and the varied types warrant examination. The pre civil war years 18201860, or the antebellum years were among the most chaotic in american historya time of significant changes that took place as the united states came of age. In his book the american civil war, john keegan writes that the american civil war was to prove one of the most ferocious wars ever fought. Families lived in constant fear of getting overrun by an army. The civil war is cemented in history as the deadliest war fought on american soil. Telling the tales of generals and soldiers on the battleground during a brutal conflict naturally took precedence. The following guide provides an annotated resource for these records, which include diaries, correspondence, and account books kept by women and womens organizations prior to, during, and after the war. John heiser gettysburg national military park may 1, 1998 the life of a soldier in the 1860s was difficult and for the thousands of young americans who left home to fight for their cause, it was an experience none of them would ever forget.
The civil war complete 28 volume set including index. Civil war book list by the new york times far more books have been written about the civil war than about any other event in american history, and lincolns stack of books. From james mcphersons definitive history to tony horwitzs adventures among obsessives, here are the 11 best books on the civil war in time. A privates reminiscences of the civil war, theodore gerrish recalls a time spent too long in camp and writes, one of the most disastrous features of the gloomy situation was the terrible sickness of the soldiersmen were unused to the climate, the exposure, and the food, so that the whole experience was in direct. One of the most popular categories of these books tells much of the tale of the larger war by focusing on the life and experiences of a single person. Most of the fighting during the american civil war took place on southern soil. Explore these resources to learn more about the significance of the navy during the civil war, read firsthand accounts of the conflict, and analyze technological developments of the time. Civil war culture in americaboth north and southwas greatly distinct from life in the antebellum years.
It arose out of disputes over slavery and states rights. War in the south life in the south during the civil war was even more difficult than in the north. Order of civil war books the civil war series is a series of alternate history novels by newt gingrich and william r. Published by time life the series was simultaneously released in. Diaries included in the drop down menu to the left, or highlighted in the list below, are accessible. Find the complete the civil war book series listed in order. See the complete the civil war series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles. Published by time life the series was simultaneously released in the usa and canada between 1983 and 1987, with subsequent identical reprints in the late 1980s early 1990s following suit for foreign, though untranslated, dissemination as well. On the other hand, for the north to win, the union had to be restored. Fox, a historian, were 360,222 from the north and 258,000 from the south. A book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The series is written by a reputed british writer named michael arnold. April 15,1861 president lincoln orders a special session of congress for independence day, july 4.
In many cases, without geographic objectives, the only target for each side was the enemys soldier. For many years the effect of the civil war on civilian life was neglected in the history books. Leander stillwell was an 18yearold illinois farm boy, living with his family in a log cabin, when the u. When colonel robert gould shaw, commander of the allblack 54th regiment during the american civil war, died at fort wagner, he was stripped and buried with his men as an insult. Books and databases about the civil war american history. The civil war lasted for four years and left over 600,000 soldiers dead. Fiction and nonfiction books about or set during the american civil war. The civil war, for kids interested in this era, is brought to thrilling life in this issue. A list of 100 of the best civil war books, spanning several decades and. For more than 3 million african americans, the whole of life post civil war had become pretty darn confusing. This is a broad library containing novels like the red badge of courage and uncle toms cabin, civil war stories by ambrose pierce, ppems from julia ward howe and emily dickison, and historical documents including the emancipation proclamation, and. Not only did soldiers face the possibility of getting killed in battle, their daily lives were full of hardships.
One was the bewildering new world faced by the freed slaves. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. The life of a soldier during the civil war wasnt easy. Order in the next 32 hours 38 minutes and get it by thursday, february 20. Posts may contain affiliate links, meaning cwba might get a commission from purchases made through those links, at no cost to you. The civil war book series oclc 20080930 chronicles in great detail the american civil war. During these years, the nation was transformed from an underdeveloped nation of farmers and frontiersmen into an urbanized economic powerhouse. Order in the next 80 hours 30 minutes and get it by friday, september 06. Big cities tended to hug the east coast of the united states and were usually well removed from the battlefields. The links below represent a sampling of online resources throughout the nhhc site on the civil war. Thoroughly researched and superbly written studies of the common soldiers in both armies. The poet walt whitman wrote about the civil war extensively.
During the civil war, america was mostly a rural, agricultural country. What follows is a list of civil war related diaries and journals from the manuscript holdings in the department of special collections, university libraries of notre dame. As the war dragged on, the soldiers life was one of nearconstant hardship and. When the soldiers reached their camp, they would write a letter home or write in their diaries about their marches, camp life, and battles during the war. Family life in virginia and across the south suffered devastating effects during the american civil war 18611865.
In fact, according to the library of congress civil war desk reference, over 70,000 books have been published on various aspects of the civil war and more are being published every day. The other was a new farming practice, known as sharecropping, that would ultimately make life more difficult for both exslaves and poor whites. Antietam voices of the civil war, atlanta voices of the civil war, chancellorsville voices of the civil war, charleston, chattanooga, chickamauga. Six books on the civil war these six histories of the civil war that are mustreads if you want to better understand the conflict a group of officers in culpeper, virginia reading. Family life during the civil war encyclopedia virginia. American civil war, fouryear war 186165 fought between the united states and 11 southern states that seceded to form the confederate states of america. He is the founder and publisher of game development company skirmisher publishing llc.
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