A basic Civil War library?

Re: A basic Civil War library?

I will, David: but I appreciate your comment.

And thanks to all who responded.

Capt. Coxetter / Jim McArthur

[dbuckley]

Re: A basic Civil War library?

Hi All,

You can jump up and down and complain about people not using the search engine, but if you search for "basic library", "civil war library", and a few other options I tried, if you use anything BUT the word "bibliography" that is specifically in the title of that past thread, you won't find that thread.
I read these the boards pretty much daily, and I don't even remember that thread. (crs syndrome) But with the prodigious amount of postings on these boards, (over 100 per day) an 8 month old inactive thread will usually get buried back a few pages pretty quickly. So, instead of reading through every page of threads, one uses the search engine. So if someone didn't find what he wanted to know, they decide to ask a question.
I wonder if he'll bother to ask another one.

[Charles Heath]

Re: A basic Civil War library?

Burt,

You are my AC Forum "hero of the week." Thanks.

If we charged for the search engine, would more folks use it?

[burt60]

Re: A basic Civil War library?

Already been addressed

http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1292

A basic Civil War library?

If you had to recommend, say, 10 - 12 basic books on the Civil War: what would they be?

Capt Coxetter / Jim McArthur

[Milliron]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

Anything from Blue Acorn Press, but particularly:

Echoes of Battle: The Struggle for Chattanooga : An Illustrated Collection of Union and Confederate Narratives by Richard A. Baumgartner and Larry M. Strayer

Echoes of Battle: The Atlanta Campaign : An Illustrated Collection of Union and Confederate Narratives by Larry M. Strayer and Richard A. Baumgartner

Those are my favorites, but truly I wouldn't mind owning every single book in the BA catalogue (and I largely do, for that matter)

Larry Strayer has one of the largest, (if not the largest) private collections of CDV's and photographs in the country. Either book is chock full of photos that have long since become lore in the Western theater ACW community.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

I echo the call on Otto's book. I bought it looking for an insight on the experiences of a German soldier, which it has, but it has a tremendous amount of other detail as well, and certainly belongs up there with Fisk and Rhodes, maybe even Ray. It includes vignettes of battle, shirkers, bathing, cooking, finding impromptu sinks on the march, packing for the March to the Sea, balancing commuted rations, and a host of other little details of military life that readers of this forum will find interesting and useful. Read it all the way through for the story of this former Prussian officer's service in the war, then pick it up for the occasional browse. It's well worth the investment.

[BenjaminLDavis]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

Hey all,

I would echo Dusty in the very first post - if there was a new feller, I would
steer him to Billings and the two Wileys for starters, you cannot go wrong
with these. The wealth of information still astounds me.

I would add a new volume to those aforementioned:
it is entitled - Memoirs of a Dutch Mudsill (The "War Memories of
John Henry Otto, Captain, Company D, 21st Regiment,
Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry)
Edited by David Gould and James B. Kennedy
This is an excellant memoir by an experienced soldier (fought for some years
in Germany before he came to the United States) with an eye for detail and
a sense of humor. A very good addition to your personal library.

For historiaography, I am currently reading "Writing The Civil War - The
Quest To Understand," edited by James M. McPherson and William J.
Cooper, Jr. - this is, to be sure, above the heads of the uninitiated, but
if they have done past reading, this can be a valuable tool.

I will end here, enough said.

[theknapsack]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

For those of you (like me) who are under the age of 18, I should like to recommend:

Too Young to Die: Boy Soldiers of the Union Army 1861-1865 by Dennis M. Keesee, Blue Acorn Press, 2001

Emmanuel Dabney recommended it to me 2 months ago and I just recieved it and have started reading it. It has good primary source material in it with a wealth of much other information for those of you wanting to portray a soldier under the age of 18.

Moderators if this does not apply to this thread please feel free to delete this post.

[BobSullivanPress]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

I'd like to add a few more:

Arms and Equipment of the Civil War, by Jack Coggins.
An innocent-looking, almost juvenile-looking book, but don't be fooled. I still think it explains the relationship between arms and tactics to the layman better than any book I've ever seen.

One of the books I've used often to introduce people to the Northern and Eastern side of the war is Bruce Catton's Mr. Lincoln's Army. A good read, as are the other two books of his Army of the Potomac Trilogy, Glory Road and the Pulitzer Prize winning A Stillness at Appomattox.

And finally, I've also recommended The Killer Angels on more than one occasion.

I know that these works are dated. But prize winning writing counts for something. Think of it this way: When we want to introduce people to a new language, we don't often hand them a dictionary. We generally start with some basic conversation.

Re: Beginner's bibliography

Gentlemen,

I'd like to recommend With the 3rd Wisconsin Badgers: The Living Experience of the Civil War Through the Journals of Van R. Willard , Steven S. Raab, ed. (Stackpole Books, 1999).

It's extremely well-written and eloquent, as well as being very descriptive. Although Willard does not go into detail about uniforms and accoutrements, I think it's very helpful for developing the soldier's mindset (and that's what we're all here for, isn't it?)

I hope you will take the advice of a woman on this one.

Cheers,

Katie Guslick

[Jake Marley]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

James McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" is an excellent introduction to the Civil War era in general. Good book but not the type for this list. This list is a place to list first person collections and reference books to equipment and such. Not general histories of the war.

I would include "Echoes of Glory" for its photos and descriptions of artifacts. On the first page of the thread

For the federal reenactor, Lord's "They Fought for the Union" is also a useful reference.

I would consider "Confederates in the Attic" essential re-enactor reading, because many people who know anything in the least about our hobby have gleaned their knowledge from this book. If for nothing else, to be prepared for the questions about why we do it. Again, this book is not about the actual soldiers or how they did things. This is one person's impressions of some groups' impressions. - Mike Chapman
Nic Ellis

[FortyRounder]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

Caution should be exercised in using some of the books on this list. McCarthy's "Detailed Miniatae" and Wilkinson's "Turned Inside Out" have been repudiated by historians for their use of distortion and dramatic license. And as for Shelby Foote...Thomas Desjardin, a historian at Gettysburg NMP, offers a not-so-flattering assesment of Foote's Civil War Trilogy in "These Honored Dead." He points out that Foote is not a historian, he's a novelist, and he includes no footnotes in his work. That makes it rather difficult to ascertain the validity of many of the anecdotes that color the story...perhaps that was Foot's intention.

Here are some of my personal favorites:

"The Civil War Notebook of Daniel Chisholm"

John W. Haley. "The Rebel Yell and the Yankee Hurrah"

"The CW Diary of Cyrus F. Boyd"

"On Campaign With the Army of the Potomac: The CW Journal of Theodore Ayrault Dodge"

Delevan S. Miller. "Drum Taps in Dixie"

"From Ball's Bluff to Gettysburg...And Beyond: The CW Letters of Pvt Roland E. Bowen"

Charles A. Fuller. "Personal Recollections of the War of 1861"

[theknapsack]

Re: Beginner's bibliography

Anyone portraying an Illinois soldier should get this book:

Arming the Suckers 1861-1865 by Ken Baumann Morningside House, Inc. 1989

The above book is a compilation of what arms every Illinois regiments recieved. All branches of service.

Heres a few more great reads:

Sunday Mercury: Writing and Fighting the Civil War Soldier Correspondence to the New York Sunday Mercury Edited by William B. Styple With chapter introductions by Brian C. Pohanka, Edwin C. Bearss, Dr. James M. McPherson, Dr. Richard J. Sommers, and William B. Styple. Epilogue by Robert Lee Hodge Belle Grove Publishing Company, 2000

Soldiering with Sherman: The Civil War letters of George F. Cram Edited by Jennifer Cain Bohrnstedt Northern Illinois University Press, 2000

The revised 1861 US regulations which can (for the most part) be viewed at The US Regulars Library is also a good thing to read to have a general knowledge of the Regulations, Drill, and Inspections. Casey's can be reached at this website as well. But, I would still recommend that you buy the books as well. This is only good when the books are not available but the internet is.

Re: Beginner's bibliography

I am still new to the reenacting world and I want to thank you for your bibliography. I just finish my senior thesis to graduate college, which took me close to six months to complete. The entire thesis was mainly hitting issues that I have seen in the reenacting world. Mainly authenticity of reenacting, anywhere from soldiering to uniform to general customs of the Civil War era. You guideance helped me find the research I needed. I have must respect to all of you who help new comers like myself learn the proper information.

Respectfully,

Chad Ryan