The
Civil War Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant
528 pages; Forge; (March 1, 2004)
In the wake of a scandal-ridden presidency and sick with cancer, Ulysses
S. Grant took up the pen at the urging of his friend and editor Mark
Twain, and set down his self-effacing Personal Memoirs. The result
is one of the finest--and most closely studied--first-person accounts
of warfare ever written.
Personal
Reminiscences of General Robert E. Lee
Paperback: 464 pages; Forge; (March 1, 2004)
The Reverend J. William Jones, Lee's chaplain, compiled this collection
of reminiscences in its place as a memorial volume commemorating his
death. Filled with correspondence with President Andrew Johnson, General
Grant, and C.S.A. Generals Scott, Beauregard, and Longstreet, and
personal anecdotes from Lee's wartime contemporaries such as Jubal
Early, Jeb Magruder, Jefferson Davis, and Winfield Scott.
A
Full Blown Yankee of the Iron Brigade : Service With the Sixth Wisconsin
Volunteers
by Rufus R. Dawes(Rufus Robinson), Alan T. Nolan (Introduction)
Paperback - 368 pages Bison book edition (March 1999) Univ of Nebraska
Pr;
This book combines the personal experiences of Rufus R. Dawes with
a history of the regiment in which he served. The Iron Brigade was
the only all-Western brigade that fought in the eastern armies of
the Union and was perhaps the most distinguished of the Federal brigades.
Dawes is credited with a keen sense of observation and a fresh and
vivid style. Seldom absent from the field during his entire three-and-a-half-year
term, he chronicled Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, the Wilderness campaign, Cold Harbor, and the Petersburg
lines. Perhaps most remarkable is the well honed sense of humor he
displayed about both the war and himself. Dawes's sophisticated account
of significant military organizations and events improves our understanding
of the epic of the Civil War.
All
for the Union : The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes
by Elisha Hunt Rhodes, Robert H. Rhodes (Editor), Geoffrey C. Ward
Paperback 1 Vintage edition (July 1992) Vintage Books
Anyone who heard these diaries of a common Union soldier excerpted
on the PBS-TV documentary The Civil War will recognize Elisha Hunt
Rhodes' accounts of campaigns from Bull Run to Appomattox, which remain
outstanding for their clarity and detail. "This remarkable diary chronicles
the career of one of the Civil War's most remarkable soldiers."--James
M. McPherson. 70 photos.
Civil
War Memories
by Linda Zimmermann (photographer)
Paperback - 216 pages (May 1, 1998) Eagle Press
"An exciting compilation of vignettes which bring Civil War history
alive. This material is ideally suited for reenactors, students and
anyone interested in the day to day lives of soldiers, and average
people caught up in war's uncertainties."
Two
Months in the Confederate States : An Englishman's Travels Through
the South
by Benjamin H. Trask (Editor), W. C. Corsan
Paperback - 184 pages Reprint edition (September 1998) Louisiana
State Univ Pr
Corsan visited the Confederacy in the fall of 1862 to judge the impact
of the American Civil War on his business's future prospects. In a
clear, lively, and, at times, humorous style, Corsan details his experiences,
which include nearly being drafted into the Rebel army. He also records
southerners' attitudes toward the war.
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Eye
of the Storm: A Civil War Odyssey
by Robert Knox Sneden (Illustrator), Charles
F., Jr. Bryan (Editor), Nelson D. Lankford
Hardcover - 384 pages (October 2000)
After the attack on Fort Sumter, Robert Knox
Sneden decided to do his part to save the
Union, signing on with the 40th New York Volunteers.
Owing to his skills as an artist, Private
Sneden was recruited to become a cartographer.
During his time in the army, Sneden kept a
detailed diary and made hundreds of sketches
in the field. In 1994, four scrapbooks in
a Connecticut bank vault were found to contain
some 800 drawings, the vast majority of them
based on his original sketches.
An
Uncommon Soldier : The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, Alias
Private Lyons Wakeman, 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers
by Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, Lauren Cook Burgess
(Editor)
Paperback (March 1996) Oxford Univ Pr (Trade)
This book collects the letters of an upstate
New York farmer's daughter who in 1862 disguised
herself as a man to enlist in the Union army
and demonstrates how common this uncommon
soldier's experiences were. Indeed, Wakeman
was much more concerned with how the family
farm was going than she was about the larger
issues of a war in which she served for two
years before dying of dysentery. This is only
the second published personal account of one
of the hundreds of women known to have served
in male attire in the Civil War.
35
Days to Gettysburg : The Campaign Diaries of Two American Enemies
by Mark Nesbitt
Hardcover - 224 pages 1st Ed. edition (September
1992) Stackpole Books
The author has selected the diaries of two
participants in the Battle of Gettysburg:
Thomas Lewis Ware, a Confederate soldier from
Georgia, and Franklin Horner, a Union soldier
from Pennsylvania, and follows them for 35
days as each one marches toward Gettysburg.
Their experiences, thoughts, and feelings
are recounted exactly as written in their
diaries. The author's commentary follows each
day's entry and gives insight and detail as
to location, army units involved, food and
housing, and background information on each
individual to better understand the diary
entries. The author then takes the two participants
through the Battle of Gettysburg, their involvement
in each phase of the battle, and the final
outcome as it affects them. Lastly, the author
maps out routes of march for each of the two
participants, using modern highways for anyone
wishing to duplicate the marches. The book
gives interesting insight into the thoughts
and feelings of two common soldiers as they
approach a major battle.
An
Irishman in the Iron Brigade : The Civil War Memoirs of James P. Sullivan,
Sergt., Company K, 6th Wisconsin Volunteers
by James P. Sullivan, Lance J. Herdegen, William J.K. Beaudot (Editor)
Hardcover - 183 pages (September 1993) Fordham Univ Pr;
Co.
Aytch : A Confederate's Memoir of the Civil War
by Sam R. Watkins
Paperback - 240 pages Reprint edition (August 1997) MacMillan Publishing
Company
This book is one of the most unusual war books that I have read, and
one of the most memorable. Sam Watkins writes from a private's perspective.
He knows nothing of grand strategy; only that there are people "over
there" shooting at him, and that his odds are better if he shoots them
first. At times he is very eloquent, and a very moving writer.
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