American Civil War Books Free – Lincoln Administration Books

A Rebel’s Recollections – Lincoln Administration Books

Eggleston, George Cary
NY: Putnam’s Sons 1905 Dewey Dec. 973.7

George Cary Eggleston (1839-1911) wrote this series of articles about his experiences as a Confederate soldier in 1873 for the magazine ‘The Atlantic’. Eggleston was a popular author for decades, and was the brother of Edward Eggleston, also a popular writer. History of the US Civil War.

Contents: The mustering – The men who made the army – The temper of the women – Of the time when money was “easy” – The chevalier of the lost cause – Lee, Jackson, and some lesser worthies – Some queer people – Red tape – The end, and after.

Dixie Betrayed: How the South Really Lost the Civil War

Eicher, David J.
Little, Brown 2006 Dewey Dec. 973.7

A study in how governments can self-destruct during wartime. For more than a century, the conventional wisdom has been that the South lost because of overwhelming Union strength and bad luck. The Confederates have been lionized as noble warriors who fought for an honorable cause with little chance of succeeding. But historian Eicher reveals a calamity of political conspiracy, discord, and dysfunction. Drawing on previously unexplored sources, Eicher shows how President Jefferson Davis viciously fought with the Confederate House and Senate, governors, and his own cabinet. Confederate senators threatened each other with physical violence; some were brutal drunks, others, hopeless idealists. Military commanders were assigned not by skill but because of personal connections. Davis frequently interfered with his generals in the field, ignoring the chain of command. Also, some states wanted to set themselves up as separate nations, further undermining efforts to conduct a unified war effort.

See our post about Historical Novels about the American South

Civil War Battlefields: A Touring Guide

Eicher, David J.
Taylor 2005 Dewey Dec. 973.7

“Fills a long-standing gap in the literature of American history by delivering a detailed, accurate, and modern guide to touring these national historic treasures. Author David J. Eicher meticulously researched the field, mapped the battlefields, and created an up-to-date narrative explaining what tourists to the twelve major Civil War battle areas can see. The result describes 1,353 historic houses, farms, bridges, fields, monuments, cemeteries, and museums covering 22 campaigns and approximately 40 separate battles. Forty-one peerless maps depict features of interest on each field, split between national park areas, state park areas, and private land holdings. More than 100 photographs illustrate features of interest at each battleground.” -Book cover

Contents: Antietam, South Mountain, and Harpers Ferry — Bull Run — Chattanooga — Chicamauga — Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania — Gettysburg — Petersburg, Five Forks, and Appomattox Court House — Richmond and City Point — The Shenandoah Valley — Shiloh — Stones River, Franklin, and Spring Hill — Vicksburg.

Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War – American Civil War Books Free

Faust, Drew Gilpin
Univ. of North Carolina 1996 Dewey Dec. 973.7

According to Faust, the most privileged of southern women experienced the destruction of war as both a social and a personal upheaval: the prerogatives of whiteness and the protections of ladyhood began to dissolve as the Confederacy weakened and crumbled. Faust draws on the eloquent diaries, letters, essays, memoirs, fiction, and poetry of more than 500 of the Confederacy’s elite women to show that with the disintegration of slavery and the disappearance of prewar prosperity, every part of these women’s lives became vexed and uncertain. But it was not just females who worried about the changing nature of gender relations in the wartime South; Confederate political discourse and popular culture – plays, novels, songs, and paintings – also negotiated the changed meanings of womanhood.

A Chronological History of the Civil War in America

Illustrated with A. J. Johnson’s and J. H. Colton’s steel plate maps and plans of the southern states and harbors

Fisher, Richard Swainson
NY: Johnson and Ward 1863 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The publisher assembled a list of events and relevant political news items from 20 Dec 1860 to 1 Jan 1863. Intended at the time for anyone who closely followed the news of the day and the progress of the war, it is still useful for anyone with an interest in Civil War history. Maps are included.

The Mississippi Valley in the Civil War

Fiske, John
Houghton Mifflin 1901 Dewey Dec. 973.7

A good, concise account of the military events in this region. Contains maps. “Does not attempt to cover the less important incidents, but treats those dominant movements which prophesied and led to the final results of the war.” Pittsburgh

Contents: 1. From St. Louis to Belmont 2. Fort Donelson and Shiloh 3. The Capture of New Orleans 4. From Corinth to Stone River 5. The Vicksburg Problem 6. The Fall of Vicksburg 7. Chickamauga 8. Chattanooga 9. Nashville.

The American Civil War, a Concise History of its Causes, Progress, and Results vol 1

– Volume 2

Formby, John
London: Murray 1910 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The author appears to have been Colonel John Formby (1858-1933) Justice of the Peace, squire of Formby Hall, Lancashire, England, who earned his B.A at Cambridge University.

“This English account of our Civil War is, in many respects, one of the best. It holds well together the contemporary happenings in the various sections of the war zone, so that the reader sees the progress of the war as a whole; it keeps well to the front the political happenings, and shows their relation to the campaigns and to the military leaders; it eschews minute details of the actual fighting in favor of the larger movements of the contending armies, and it is written from an unbiased standpoint, for exposition and not for argument.” – The Independent
With 66 maps and plans in the second volume.

The Civil War by Campaigns

Foster, Eli Greenawalt
Topeka: Crane 1899 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The author indicates that he has tried to provide a condensed account of important events, avoiding a lot of detail about battles. Moreover, rather that narrate the war chronologically, it is arranged by campaign. Many original maps are provided to help the reader follow the course of the campaigns.

Contents: Causes of the Civil War – Opening events of the war – Naval war – Coast operations – War in Missouri – Grant’s campaign in the west – The opening of the Mississippi River – Bragg’s invasion of Kentucky – Chattanooga – Sherman’s March to the sea – McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign – Pope’s campaign – From Antietam to Fredericksburg – Chancellorsville – Gettysburg – Grant’s overland campaign – Sheridan and Early in the Shenandoah Valley – Peace Commission, and surrender of Lee – Outskirt movements – Financial measures – Cost of the war – national debt – closing events.

Civil War: People and Perspectives

Frank, Lisa Tendrich, ed.
ABC-CLIO 2009

Looks at one of the most convulsive events in American history through the eyes of ordinary citizens, examining issues related to the home front and war front across the full spectrum of racial, class, and gender boundaries. Recounts the experiences of soldiers, women and children, slaves and freed persons, Native Americans, immigrants, and other social groups during a time of extraordinary national upheaval.

The Antietam Campaign

Gallagher, Gary W., ed.
Univ. of North Carolina 1999 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The Maryland campaign of September 1862 ranks among the most important military operations of the American Civil War. Crucial political, diplomatic, and military issues were at stake as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan maneuvered and fought in the western part of the state. The climactic clash came on September 17 at the battle of Antietam, where more than 23,000 men fell in the single bloodiest day of the war.
Approaching topics related to Lee’s and McClellan’s operations from a variety of perspectives, contributors to this volume explore questions regarding military leadership, strategy, and tactics, the impact of the fighting on officers and soldiers in both armies, and the ways in which participants and people behind the lines interpreted and remembered the campaign. They also discuss the performance of untried military units and offer a look at how the United States Army used the Antietam battlefield as an outdoor classroom for its officers in the early twentieth century.
The contributors are William A. Blair, Keith S. Bohannon, Peter S. Carmichael, Gary W. Gallagher, Lesley J. Gordon, D. Scott Hartwig, Robert E. L. Krick, Robert K. Krick, Carol Reardon, and Brooks D. Simpson.

Life in Dixie during the War; 1861-1862-1863-1864-1865

Gay, Mary Ann Harris
Atlanta: Byrd 1897 Dewey Dec. 973.7

Life in Dixie During the War, first published in 1892, ranks among the best first-person accounts of the American Civil War. Mary A. H. Gay eloquently recounts her wartime experiences in Georgia and bears witness to the “suffering and struggle, defeat and despair, triumph and hope that is human history”. Mary Gay was not only a chronicler, but an active participant in wartime activities; old veterans described her as “unusually brave and fearless”. While her book reads like a novel, it continues to be praised by modern scholars as an honest report of American history.

The Capture, the Prison Pen, and the Escape: giving a complete history of prison life in the South, …

principally at Richmond, Danville, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, Columbia, Belle Isle, Millin, Salisbury, and Andersonville: describing the arrival of prisoners, plans of escape, with numerous and varied incidents and anecdotes of prison life; embracing also the adventures of the author’s escape from Columbia, S.C., recapture, subsequent escape, recapture, trial as spy, and final escape from Sylvania, Georgia. With illustrations

Glazer, Willard W.
Hartford, CT: Goodwin 1867 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The author, a Brevet Captain of the New York Volunteer Cavalry, related his own experiences.

The Appeal to Arms 1861-1863 (American Nation, Vol. 20)

Hosmer, James Kendall
1907 Dewey Dec. 973.7

This volume and the one listed below together from a brief, compact history of the war. Each contains maps and a bibliography.
“The point of view of the author … is that of a participant in the campaigns, and a friend of many officers on both sides, who relates the story not as a victory of the United States over a national enemy, but as a part of the history of the whole people, both North and South.” Editor’s introduction.

Outcome of the Civil War 1863-1865 (American Nation, Vol. 21) – Lincoln Administration Books

Hosmer, James Kendall
1907 Dewey Dec. 973.7

Although independent in field and arrangement, this volume continues the author’s “Appeal to arms.” It covers the period from the midsummer of 1863 to the end of hostilities in April, 1865.

Contents: 1. Military Law and War Finance (1863) 2. The Chickamauga Campaign (August, 1863 – September, 1863) 3. Chattanooga and Knoxville (September, 1863 – December, 1863) 4. Life in War-time North and South (1863) 5. Concentration under Grant (December, 1863 – April, 1864) 6. On to Richmond (May, 1864 – June, 1864) 7. The Atlanta Campaign (May, 1864 – August, 1864) 8. Attempts at Reconstruction (1863-1864) 9. Lincoln’s Second Election (1864) 10. The Confederacy on the Sea (1861-1864) 11. Sheridan in the Valley (July, 1864 – February, 1865) 12. Sherman’s March to the Sea (September, 1864 – December, 1864) 13. Preparations for Readjustment of the States (September, 1864 – March, 1865) 14. Military Severities (1864-1865) 15. Spirit of the North (1864-1865) 16. Spirit of the South (1864-1865) 17. Downfall of the Confederacy (April, 1865) 18. Critical Essay on Authorities.

Prisoners of War and Military Prisons: Personal Narratives of Experience in the Prisons at Richmond,…

Danville, Macon, Andersonville, Savannah, Millen, Charleston, and Columbia with a general account of prison life and prisons in the South during the War of the Rebellion, including statistical information pertaining to prisoners of war; together with a list of officers who were prisoners of war from January 1, 1864

Isham, Asa B., Davidson, Henry M. and Furness, Henry B.
Cincinnati: Lyman & Cushing 1890 Dewey Dec. 973.7

This is a collection of personal narratives including a general account of prison life and prisons in the South during the American Civil War.

A Short History of the War of Secession, 1861-1865

Johnson, Rossiter
Boston: Houghton, Mifflin 1889 973.7 Dewey Dec.

A one-volume comprehensive history of the war, by a historian.

Contents: Causes – outbreak – beginning of bloodshed – First battle of Bull Run – Border states and foreign relations – First Union victories – Capture of New Orleans – Monitor and the Merrimac – Campaign of Shiloh – Peninsula campaign – Pope’s campaign – Antietam campaign – Emancipation – Burnside’s campaign – Rosecrans and Hooker – Gettysburg – Vicksburg campaign – Draft riots – Siege of Charleston – Chattanooga campaign – Black chapter – Sanitary and Christian commissions – Overland campaign – Confederate cruisers – Atlanta campaign – Battle of Mobile Bay – Advance on Petersburg – Sheridan in the Shenandoah – Presidential election – National finances – March to the sea – Final battles – peace.

The American Civil War: A Military History – American Civil War Books Free

Keegan, John
Vintage 2010 Dewey Dec. 973.7

“The greatest military historian of our time gives a peerless account of America’s most bloody, wrenching, and eternally fascinating war.
In this magisterial history and national bestseller, John Keegan shares his original and perceptive insights into the psychology, ideology, demographics, and economics of the American Civil War. Illuminated by Keegan’s knowledge of military history he provides a fascinating look at how command and the slow evolution of its strategic logic influenced the course of the war. Above all, The American Civil War gives an intriguing account of how the scope of the conflict combined with American geography to present a uniquely complex and challenging battle space. Irresistibly written and incisive in its analysis, this is an indispensable account of America’s greatest conflict.” -Publisher.

History of the Great Rebellion, from its Commencement to its Close

Giving an account of its origin, the secession of the southern states, and the formation of the Confederate government, the concentration of the military and financial resources of the federal government … together with sketches of the lives of all the eminent statesmen and military and naval commanders, with a full and complete index. From official sources.

Kettell, Thomas P.
Hartford, CT: Stebbins 1866 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The Military Hand-book and Soldier’s Manual of Information

Embracing the official articles of war, regulations for the enrollment and draft (1862), table of those exempt; instructions to the volunteer; Army regulations for camp and service; ration and pay lists; general rules and orders; health department; with valuable remedies, etc., together with a complete dictionary of military terms

Le Grand, Louis, M.D.
NY: Beadle 1862 Dewey Dec. 973.7

This handbook was intended to be useful for the average soldier, but may be of great interest for readers today. The sections about enrollment and the draft, general orders, and the dictionary of military terms all contain very interesting information for the student of Civil War military history. The long section on health, which includes advice on staying healthy and numerous home remedies for a wide variety of maladies, is excellent.

All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies

Leonard, Elizabeth D.
Norton 1999 Dewey Dec. 973.7

A fascinating account of women who defied convention to do battle for their causeDuring the Civil War, women worked as spies and sometimes disguised themselves as male soldiers to play an heroic part in the conflict. Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard has combed archives, memoirs, and histories to unearth the stories of these hidden and forgotten women who risked their lives for the blue and the gray. Here are the stories of Belle Boyd, Confederate loyalist and key player in Stonewall Jackson’s struggle to hold the Shenandoah Valley, and Sarah Emma Edmonds, who enlisted as “Franklin Thompson,” and fought at Fredericksburg. Leonard includes many other courageous women, investigates why they chose unconventional ways to help their cause, and shows how they were able to break through the traditional barriers of Victorian womanhood.

The Treatment of Prisoners of War 1861-1865

Lewis, Samuel E., M.D.
Richmond, VA: Jones 1910 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The author’s title is shown as “Late Assistant Surgeon, C.S.A.” This is a 16-page paper about a statistical mystery surrounding claims that had been made in official reports about the number of prisoners of war held in the north and the south, and the percentages of those that had died in captivity in each region. This was of great interest because, despite many complaints by the Union of the brutal conditions in southern prisons, a prominent and frequently-cited report had indicated that the death rate in Union prisons was much higher.

My Story of the War: a Woman’s Narrative of Four Years Personal Experience as Nurse in the Union Army …

and in relief work at home, in hospitals, camps, and at the front, during the war of the rebellion. With anecdotes, pathetic incidents, and thrilling reminiscences portraying the lights and shadows of hospital life and the Sanitary Service of the War

Livermore, Mary A.
Hartford, CT: Worthington 1889 Dewey Dec. 973.7

The title suggests this is a 1st person account by a Civil War nurse, but it goes well beyond that. When Mary Livermore prepared to write this book, two decades after the war, she draw upon a large personal archive of her correspondence and articles she had written for publication. Besides being a volunteer nurse she was a highly skilled writer and apparently also served in important administrative roles in the Sanitary Commission that ran the Union hospitals. In addition to stories of nursing experiences, the book contains, at minimum, pen portraits of soldiers and other personalities, military history, and considerable information about the operations of the Sanitary Commission.

Lloyd’s Battle History of the Great Rebellion – Lincoln Administration Books

Complete, from the capture of Fort Sumter, April 14, 1861, to the capture of Jefferson Davis, May 10, 1865, embracing General Howard’s tribute to the volunteer, 268 battle descriptions, 39 biographical sketches, 49 portraits of generals, 17 maps of battle-fields, 13 battle pictures, and a general review of the War for the Union

NY: Lloyd 1866 Dewey Dec. 973.7

Arranged much like a one-volume encyclopedia, published immediately after the war ended.

See our links to online collections of military maps

A History of the Civil War 1861-65 and the causes that led up to the great conflict, – American Civil War Books Free

by Benson J. Lossing, LL. D., and a chronological summary and record of every engagement, showing the total losses and casualties together with war maps of localities, compiled from the official records of the War department. Illustrated with fascimile photographic reproductions of the official war photographs, taken at the time by Matthew B. Brady, under the authority of President Lincoln and now in the possession of the War department, Washington, D. C.

Lossing, Benson J.
NY: War Memorial Association 1912 Dewey Dec. 973.7

Very heavily illustrated with photos taken during the war; often 8-10 photos on a page.

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