1850-1877: The Civil War: Publications

A. S. Abrams, A Full and Detailed History of the Siege of Vicksburg (Atlanta: Intelligencer Steam Power Presses, 1863);

Markinfield Addey, “Old Jack” and His Foot-Cavalry; or, A Virginian Boy’s Progress to Renown (New York: J. Bradburn, 1864)—one of the first biographies about Confederate general Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson;

Battle-Fields of the South, from Bull Run to Fredericksburg; with sketches of Confederate Commanders, and Gossip of the Camps (New York: J. Bradburn, 1864)—written by an Englishman who served as an artillery officer in the Confederate army. His good observations make the book one of the best Southern sources covering the early battles;

P. G. T. Beauregard, Principles and Maxims of the Art of War; Outpost Service; General Instructions for Battle; Reviews (Charleston: Press of Evans & Cogswell, 1863)—stresses the value of fortifications as well as flanking movements. Beauregard, a West Point graduate and Confederate general, also translated Antoine-Henri Jomini’s The Art of War (1838);

William D. Bickham, Rosecrans’ Campaign with the Fourteenth Army Corps, or the Army of the Cumberland: A Narrative of Personal Observations with…Official Reports of the Battle of Stone River (Cincinnati: Moore, Wilstach, Keys, 1863)—written by a newspaper correspondent from the Cincinnati Commercial•

Montgomery Blair, Speech of the Hon. Montgomery Blair on the Revolutionary Schemes of the Ultra Abolitionists, and in Defense of the Policy of the President (New York: D. W. Lee, 1863)—Blair served as postmaster general in the Lincoln administration;

Henry N. Blake, Three Years in the Army of the Potomac (Boston: Lee & Shepard, 1865)—written by a former captain of the Eleventh Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers;

John Minor Botts, The Great Rebellion: Its Secret History, Rise, Progress and Diastrous Failure (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1866);

J. F. J. Caldwell, The History of a Brigade of South Carolinians, Known First as “Gregg’s” and Subsequently as “McGowan’s Brigade” (Philadelphia: King & Baird, 1866)—a typical unit history to come out at the end of the war. It is surprisingly objective in view of its publication date;

David Power Conygham, Shermans March through the South. With Sketches and Incidents of the Campaign (New York: Sheldon and Co., 1865)—one of the first personal accounts about the march written by a New York Herald war correspondent;

Joel Cook, The Siege of Richmond; A Narrative of the Military Operations of Major-General George B. McClellan during the Months of May and June, 1862 (Philadelphia: G. W. Childs, 1862)—excellent account written by a Philadelphia Press war correspondent;

Nicholas A. Davis, The Campaign from Texas to Maryland (Richmond: Office of the Presbyterian Committee of Publication of the Confederate States, 1863)—narrative written by a Confederate army chaplain attached to Confederate general John B. Hood’s Texas Brigade;

William S. Dodge, History of the Old Second Division, Army of the Cumberland (Chicago: Church & Goodman, 1864)—one of the first historical accounts about a Civil War division;

Frederick Douglass, Men of Color, To Arms! (Rochester, N.Y., 1863)—recruiting pamphlet for the 54th Massachusetts;

George W. Driggs, Opening of the Mississippi; or Two Years’ Campaigning in the South-West (Madison: W. J. Park, 1864)—witty account of the war in the west. The account was taken from letters written by a sergeant in the 8th Wisconsin Infantry;

James Dugan, History ofHurlbut’s Fighting Fourth Division: And Especially the Marches, Toils, Privations, Adventures, Skirmishes and Battles of the Fourteenth Illinois Infantry (Cincinnati: E. Morgan, 1863)—study of the war in Missouri and Mississippi;

Sarah Emma Edmundson, Unsexed: or, The Female Soldier. The Thrilling Adventures, Experiences and Escapes of a Woman, as Nurse, Spy and Scout, in Hospitals, Camps and Battle-Fields (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Publishing, 1860)—personal account of a woman who disguised herself and served in the Union army for two years;

Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, Three Months in the Southern States: April-June 1863 (New York: J. Bradburn, 1864)—classic account of wartime South by English army observer;

Richard F. Fuller, Chaplain Fuller: Being a Life Sketch of a New England Clergyman and Army Chaplain (Boston: Walker, Wise, 1863)—good behind-the-lines account of the 16th Massachusetts Infantry;

Henry W. Halleck, Elements of Military Art and Science; or, Course of Instruction in Strategy, Fortification, Tactics of Battles, etc., Embracing the Duties of Staff, Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineers, third edition (New York & London: D. Appleton, 1863)—Halleck, a general in the Union army, emphasizes the value of fortifications in battle. As it was written in English and contained a good bibliography citing works in military history, Halleck’s book bypassed Jomini’s work as the standard text on military strategy read at West Point;

Ward Hill Lamon, The Life of Abraham Lincoln (Boston: James R. Osgood, 1872);

Dennis Hart Mahan, Advanced-guard, Out-post, and Detachment Service of Troops, with the Essential Principles of Strategy, and Grand Tactics, for the Use of Officers of the Militia and Volunteers (New York: J. Wiley & Son, 1869)—Mahan was professor of engineering and military science at West Point from 1830 to 1871. His textbook was an invaluable guide for company-grade officers as well as regimental commanders;

Mahan, Descriptive Geometry, as Applied to the Drawing of Fortification and Stereotomy. For the Use of the Cadets of the U.S. Military Academyi (New York: J. Wiley, 1864)—a textbook focusing on the value of field fortifications, especially the use of trenches in defensive positions;

George B. McClellan, The Complete Report on the Organization and Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac (N.p., 1864?);

Irvin McDowell, Statement of Major Gen. Irvin McDowell, in Review of the Evidence before the Court of Inquiry, Instituted at His Request in Special Orders, no. 353, Headquarters of the Army (Washington: L. Towers, 1863);

Judith White McGuire, Diary of a Southern Refugee During the War (New York: E. J. Hale & Son, 1867)—the reminiscences of a Virginia resident from May 1861 to May 1865;

James M. McKim, The Freedmen of South Carolina (Philadelphia: W. P. Hazard, 1862)—a study of the newly freed African Americans in the Port Royal Sound area;

Charles C. Nott, Sketches of the War: A Series of Letters to the North Moore Street School of New York (New York: C. T. Evans, 1863)—excellent narrative of the first battles in the West by an Iowa cavalry officer;

James B. Rogers, War Pictures. Experiences and Observations of a Chaplain in the U.S. Army, in the War of the Southern Rebellion (Chicago: Church &c Goodman, 1863)—excellent account of the Battle of Shiloh and Corinth;

Fitzgerald Ross, A Visit to the Cities and Camps of the Confederate States (Edinburgh and London: W. Blackwood and Sons, 1865)—insightful observations of the Southern war effort written by a Scotsman who traveled throughout the South from 1863-1864;

William Tecumseh Sherman, General Sherman’s Official Account of His Great March through Georgia and the Carolinas (New York: Bunce & Huntington, 1865)—includes Sherman’s evidence before a congressional committee on the conduct of the war. In addition he defends his actions against Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and Gen. Henry Halleck;

Alexander H. Stephens, A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States; Its Causes, Character, Conduct and Results, 2 volumes (Philadelphia: National Publishing, 1868-1870)—one of the first histories of the war to appear in print, written by the former vice president of the Confederacy;

Edwin W. Stone, Rhode Island in the Rebellion (Providence: G. H. Whitney, 1864)—one of the best and first memoirs about life as a Civil War soldier;

George Alfred Townsend, Campaigns of a Non Combatant (New York: Blelock, 1866)—a journalistic account of the war, rich in information about the life of the soldier.