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Here are two new releases due out early next year in case they interest other readers who enjoy accounts covering the American Civil War:

by Winston Groom
Description:
In the spring of 1862, many Americans still believed that the Civil War, "would be over by Christmas." The previous summer in Virginia, Bull Run, with nearly 5,000 casualties, had been shocking, but suddenly came word from a far away place in the wildernesses of Southwest Tennessee of an appalling battle costing 23,000 casualties, most of them during a single day. It was more than had resulted from the entire American Revolution. As author Winston Groom reveals in this dramatic, heart-rending account, the Battle of Shiloh would singlehandedly change the psyche of the military, politicians, and American people--North and South--about what they had unleashed by creating a Civil War.

In this gripping telling of the first "great and terrible" battle of the Civil War, Groom describes the dramatic events of April 6 and 7, 1862, when a bold surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant's encamped troops and the bloody battle that ensued would alter the timbre of the war.

The Southerners struck at dawn on April 6th, and Groom vividly recounts the battle that raged for two days over the densely wooded and poorly mapped terrain. Driven back on the first day, Grant regrouped and mounted a fierce attack the second, and aided by the timely arrival of reinforcements managed to salvage an encouraging victory for the Federals.

Groom's deft prose reveals how the bitter fighting would test the mettle of the motley soldiers assembled on both sides, and offer a rehabilitation of sorts for Union General William Sherman, who would go on from the victory at Shiloh to become one of the great generals of the war. But perhaps the most alarming outcome, Groom poignantly reveals, was the realization that for all its horror, the Battle of Shiloh had solved nothing, gained nothing, proved nothing, and the thousands of maimed and slain were merely wretched symbols of things to come.

With a novelist's eye for telling and a historian's passion for detail, context, and meaning, Groom brings the key characters and moments of battle to life. Shiloh is an epic tale, deftly told by a masterful storyteller.

by Earl J. Hess
Description:
The Western theater of the Civil War, rich in agricultural resources and manpower and home to a large number of slaves, stretched 600 miles north to south and 450 miles east to west from the Appalachians to the Mississippi. If the South lost the West, there would be little hope of preserving the Confederacy. Earl J. Hess's comprehensive study of how Federal forces conquered and held the West examines the geographical difficulties of conducting campaigns in a vast land, as well as the toll irregular warfare took on soldiers and civilians alike. Hess balances a thorough knowledge of the battle lines with a deep understanding of what was happening within the occupied territories.
In addition to a mastery of logistics, Union victory hinged on making use of black manpower and developing policies for controlling constant unrest while winning campaigns. Effective use of technology, superior resource management, and an aggressive confidence went hand in hand with Federal success on the battlefield. In the end, Confederates did not have the manpower, supplies, transportation potential, or leadership to counter Union initiatives in this critical arena.

If it's not too bold, I'd like to mention that my Civil War horror novel A FINE LIKENESS has just been released. Although I've had several short stories and a novella published, this is my first novel. I've also written books on Missouri history and Civil War history for publishers such as Osprey and Globe Pequot.
The blurb and link are below.

A Confederate guerrilla and a Union captain discover there’s something more dangerous in the woods than each other.

Jimmy Rawlins is a teenaged bushwhacker who leads his friends on ambushes of Union patrols. They join infamous guerrilla leader Bloody Bill Anderson on a raid through Missouri, but Jimmy questions his commitment to the Cause when he discovers this madman plans to sacrifice a Union prisoner in a hellish ritual to raise the Confederate dead.

Richard Addison is an aging captain of a lackluster Union militia. Depressed over his son’s death in battle, a glimpse of Jimmy changes his life. Jimmy and his son look so much alike that Addison becomes obsessed with saving him from Bloody Bill. Captain Addison must wreck his reputation to win this war within a war, while Jimmy must decide whether to betray the Confederacy to stop the evil arising in the woods of Missouri.

Length: 95,000 words (390 pages)




thanks for reading!

Sean McLachlan
civilwarhorror.blogspot.com

For those who like to read about the Iron Brigade and don't mind waiting a few more months, here is a new book due out in June 2012 that may interest some readers:

by Lance J. Herdegen
Description:
The Iron Brigade is one of the most celebrated military organizations of the American Civil War. Although it is primarily known (and studied) because of its remarkable stand on the first bloody day at Gettysburg, its stellar service from the earliest days of the war all the way to Appomattox Court House is routinely ignored. That stunning oversight is finally rectified by award-winning author Lance J. Herdegen's The Iron Brigade in the Civil War, the first book-length account of this legendary combat unit from Bull Run to the grand march up Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.

Composed originally of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and Battery B of the 4th U.S. Artillery, the brigade first attracted attention as the only all-Western organization serving in the Eastern Theater. The Regular Army's distinctive felt dress hat earned them the nickname "Black Hat Brigade." The Westerners took part in the storied fighting at Gainesville, Second Bull Run, South Mountain (where George B. McClellan claimed he gave them their famous "Iron Brigade" moniker), and Antietam. Reinforced by the 24th Michigan, the Black Hats fought well at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. But it was at Gettysburg on July 1 where the brigade immortalized a railroad cut and saved the high ground west of town that proved decisive in the Union victory, but was nearly destroyed for its brave stand. Reorganizations, expired enlistments, and different duties split up the famous outfit, but some of the regiments fought on through the Wilderness to Petersburg and finally, Appomattox. Only when the war was ended did the Western boys finally go home.

Herdegen's magnificent The Iron Brigade in the Civil War, sure to be looked upon as his magnum opus, is based on decades of archival research and includes scores of previously unpublished letters, photos, journals, and other primary accounts. This well researched and written tour de force, which includes reunion and memorial coverage until the final expiration of the last surviving member, will be the last word on the Iron Brigade for the foreseeable future. When we were young, explained one Black Hat veteran many years after the war, we hardly realized that we "had fought on more fields of battle than the Old Guard of Napoleon, and have stood fire in far greater firmness." Here, at long last, is the full story of how young farm boys, shopkeepers, river men, and piney camp boys in a brigade forged with iron helped save the Union.

I just wanted to introduce everyone to my newest book, "Battlefield Angels: Daughters of Charity Work as Civil War Nurses."

It's a book about the best-trained nurses at the beginning of the Civil War. The Catholic sisters worked on troop transports, in battlefield hospitals, with ambulances and in military hospitals treating both Union and Confederate soldiers.

The book follows the sisters as they are sent on their missions of mercy. It is filled with stories taken from the sisters' letters and soldiers' journals about the work that the sisters did saving lives.

Battlefield Angels is a story about what happens after the battles end and the guns fall silent.

Battlefield Angels The Daughters Of Charity Work As Civil War Nurses

Jim wrote: "I just wanted to introduce everyone to my newest book, "Battlefield Angels: Daughters of Charity Work as Civil War Nurses."

It's a book about the best-trained nurses at the beginning of the Civil ..."

Will it be coming out in e-book?

While I have not read Groom's more recent book Vicksburg, 1863, I have read his Shrouds of Glory: From Atlanta to Nashville--The Last Great Campaign of the Civil War and thought it was excellent. I'm very much looking forward to his treatment of Shiloh since the other 2 books on the battle that seem best regarded - Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 and Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War - seem to be good but flawed. As one of the people who reviewed the Daniels book notes "nobody's really nailed it" yet.

Hi Josh, I am looking forward to Groom's new book on Shiloh as well and like you I am still to read his account of Vicksburg.

Jan C wrote: "Jim wrote: "I just wanted to introduce everyone to my newest book, "Battlefield Angels: Daughters of Charity Work as Civil War Nurses."

It's a book about the best-trained nurses at the beginning o..."

It will eventually, but no date has been set yet.

Battlefield Angels got a decent review from the Catholic News Service, which reviewed it since it's about the Daughters of Charity. Here's the link:

My upcoming book on the James-Younger gang's Northfield Raid has just gotten a cover. Several members of the gang were former Confederate guerrillas and claimed they attacked the Northfield bank to avenge wrongs committed against Southerners during the war. This book will be released by Osprey Publishing in October. For a sneak peek, check out this link.

just finished reading Shiloh 1862 and put up a review for the book. a fun read but a book directed more for the general public than real Civil War buffs.

George wrote: "just finished reading Shiloh 1862 and put up a review for the book. a fun read but a book directed more for the general public than real Civil War buffs."

Is that the new book by Winston Groom?

I'm about 2/3s of the way through Groom's book. It's a good fun read, but yes it does seem more aimed at the general public. For those who feel none of the Big 4 on Shiloh (McDonough, Sword, Daniels, Cunningham) were "the definitive book" on the topic...this isn't it either.

Groom's use of footnotes in this book is really annoying. Did he recently enroll in the Michael Beschloss school of writing?

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "George wrote: "just finished reading Shiloh 1862 and put up a review for the book. a fun read but a book directed more for the general public than real Civil War buffs."

Is that the new book by ..."

Yes, it is. but Groom himself says that the book is intended for the general public. it doesn't pretend to be a definitive account, and that probably accounts for the footnote issue as well.

Just found this new book that may interest other Civil War readers here:

by Richard Slotkin
Description:
In the summer of 1862, after a year of protracted fighting, Abraham Lincoln decided on a radical change of strategy—one that abandoned hope for a compromise peace and committed the nation to all-out war. The centerpiece of that new strategy was the Emancipation Proclamation: an unprecedented use of federal power that would revolutionize Southern society. In The Long Road to Antietam, Richard Slotkin, a renowned cultural historian, reexamines the challenges that Lincoln encountered during that anguished summer 150 years ago. In an original and incisive study of character, Slotkin re-creates the showdown between Lincoln and General George McClellan, the “Young Napoleon�� whose opposition to Lincoln included obsessive fantasies of dictatorship and a military coup. He brings to three-dimensional life their ruinous conflict, demonstrating how their political struggle provided Confederate General Robert E. Lee with his best opportunity to win the war, in the grand offensive that ended in September of 1862 at the bloody Battle of Antietam.

Reviews:
“Historian Slotkin moves from his path-breaking studies of America’s cultural mythology of violence to a set piece of real-life carnage in this gripping, multifaceted history of the Civil War’s bloodiest day�� Grounding military operations in political calculation and personal character, Slotkin gives us perhaps the richest interpretation yet of this epic of regenerative violence.�� - Publishers Weekly

“Throughout the book, the author exhibits his vast knowledge of the numerous generals involved in both sides of the conflict. Slotkin’s comprehensive descriptions of the battles of 1862 show his deep understanding of the terrain, the difficulties of communication, the impossible logistics and the characters that influenced the outcome. The author deftly exposes his egocentric, messianic tendencies as he purposely prolonged the beginning of the conflict.�� - Kirkus Reviews

I just finished Peter's Cain at Gettysburg

Excellent - every bit as good as Shaara's Killer Angels.

Peters takes a slightly differnt view and only really overlapping character is Longstreet who is the central character for the Confederacy. Meade is the central character on the Union side.

Sounds good Happy!

Here is a new book due out soon that may interest some of the folks here:


by Joseph Wheelan
Description:
Alongside Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip H. Sheridan is the least known of the triumvirate of generals most responsible for winning the Civil War. Yet, before Sherman's famous march through Georgia, it was General Sheridan who introduced scorched-earth warfare to the South, and it was his Cavalry Corps that compelled Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. Sheridan's innovative cavalry tactics and "total war" strategy became staples of twentieth-century warfare. After the war, Sheridan ruthlessly suppressed the raiding Plains Indians much as he had the Confederates, by killing warriors and burning villages, but he also defended reservation Indians from corrupt agents and contractors. Sheridan, an enthusiastic hunter and conservationist, later ordered the US cavalry to occupy and operate Yellowstone National Park to safeguard it from commercial exploitation.

Has anyone heard much about this new book due out soon, it sounds like it will be a very comprehensive account, two volumes, and the first volume is over 800 pages!

by D. Scott Hartwig
Description:
In early September 1862 thousands of Union soldiers huddled within the defenses of Washington, disorganized and discouraged from their recent defeat at Second Manassas. Confederate General Robert E. Lee then led his tough and confident Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland in a bold gamble to force a showdown that would win Southern independence. The future of the Union hung in the balance. The campaign that followed lasted only two weeks, but it changed the course of the Civil War.

For the sesquicentennial of Antietam and the Maryland Campaign, D. Scott Hartwig delivers a two-volume study of the campaign and climactic battle. This riveting first installment takes the reader from the controversial return of George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac through the Confederate invasion, the siege and capture of Harpers Ferry, the day-long Battle of South Mountain, and ultimately, to the eve of the great and terrible Battle of Antietam.

Ooops, another new title due out in a few months and I dare say I might need to grab a copy for my library:


Battle of Stones River: The Forgotten Conflict Between the Confederate Army of Tennessee and the Union Army of the Cumberland by Larry J. Daniel
Description:
Three days of savage and bloody fighting between Confederate and Union troops at Stones River in Middle Tennessee ended with nearly 25,000 casualties but no clear victor. The staggering number of killed or wounded equaled the losses suffered in the well-known Battle of Shiloh. Using previously neglected sources, Larry J. Daniel rescues this important campaign from obscurity.

The Battle of Stones River, fought between December 31, 1862, and January 2, 1863, was a tactical draw but proved to be a strategic northern victory. According to Daniel, Union defeats in late 1862--both at Chickasaw Bayou in Mississippi and at Fredericksburg, Virginia--transformed the clash in Tennessee into a much-needed morale booster for the North.

Daniel's study of the battle's two antagonists, William S. Rosecrans for the Union Army of the Cumberland and Braxton Bragg for the Confederate Army of Tennessee, presents contrasts in leadership and a series of missteps. Union soldiers liked Rosecrans's personable nature, whereas Bragg acquired a reputation as antisocial and suspicious. Rosecrans had won his previous battle at Corinth, and Bragg had failed at the recent Kentucky Campaign. But despite Rosecrans's apparent advantage, both commanders made serious mistakes. With only a few hundred yards separating the lines, Rosecrans allowed Confederates to surprise and route his right ring. Eventually, Union pressure forced Bragg to launch a division-size attack, a disastrous move. Neither side could claim victory on the battlefield.

In the aftermath of the bloody conflict, Union commanders and northern newspapers portrayed the stalemate as a victory, bolstering confidence in the Lincoln administration and dimming the prospects for the ''peace wing'' of the northern Democratic Party. In the South, the deadlock led to continued bickering in the Confederate western high command and scorn for Braxton Bragg.

Early November on the Stones River book. It will be interesting to see if Daniels can break some new ground since Cozzens' No Better Place to Die: THE BATTLE OF STONES RIVER. From what I know of it, Stones River is an interesting battle that probably deserves more attention than it has gotten.

It will be interesting to see how he goes Josh. I find Daniel's easier to read than Cozzen so it might be a good starter for those who have not read on the battle before.

It will be interesting to see if Daniels can break some new ground since Cozzens' No Better Place to Die: THE BATTLE OF STONES RIVER.]

Tough to do better than Cozzens did with his book. I really enjoyed it. I am not familiar with Mr. Daniel.

I've just ordered copies of these two books:



by Edwin Bearss
Description:
The wide-ranging and largely misunderstood series of operations around Petersburg, Virginia, were the longest and most extensive of the entire Civil War. The fighting that began in early June 1864 when advance elements from the Union Army of the Potomac crossed the James River and botched a series of attacks against a thinly defended city would not end for nine long months. This important-many would say decisive-fighting is presented by legendary Civil War author Edwin C. Bearss in The Petersburg Campaign: The Eastern Front Battles, June - August 1864, the first in a ground-breaking two-volume compendium.

Although commonly referred to as the "Siege of Petersburg," that city (as well as the Confederate capital at Richmond) was never fully isolated and the combat involved much more than static trench warfare. In fact, much of the wide-ranging fighting involved large-scale Union offensives designed to cut important roads and the five rail lines feeding Petersburg and Richmond. This volume of Bearss' study of these major battles includes: The Attack on Petersburg (June 9, 1864)The Second Assault on Petersburg (June 15 - 18, 1864)The Battle of the Jerusalem Plank Road (June 21 - 24, 1864)The Crater (July 30, 1864)The Battle of the Weldon Railroad (August 18 - 21, 1864)The Battle of Reams' Station (August 25, 1864).

Accompanying these salient chapters are original maps by Civil War cartographer George Skoch, together with photos and illustrations. The result is a richer and deeper understanding of the major military episodes comprising the Petersburg Campaign.

by Edwin Bearss
Description:
The wide-ranging and largely misunderstood series of operations around Petersburg, Virginia, were the longest and most extensive of the entire Civil War. The fighting that began in early June 1864 when advance elements from the Union Army of the Potomac crossed the James River and botched a series of attacks against a thinly defended city would not end for nine long months. This important-many would say decisive-fighting is presented by legendary Civil War author Edwin C. Bearss in The Petersburg Campaign: The Western Front Battles, September 1864 - April 1865, Volume 2, the second in a ground-breaking, two-volume compendium.

Although commonly referred to as the "Siege of Petersburg," that city (as well as the Confederate capital at Richmond) was never fully isolated and the combat involved much more than static trench warfare. In fact, much of the wide-ranging fighting involved large-scale Union offensives designed to cut important roads and the five rail lines feeding Petersburg and Richmond. This volume of Bearss' study includes these major battles: Peeble's Farm (September 29 - October 1, 1864)- Burgess Mills (October 27, 1864) - Hatcher Run (February 5 - 7, 1865)- Fort Stedman (March 25, 1865)- Five Forks Campaign (March 29 - April 1, 1865)- The Sixth Corps Breaks Lee's Petersburg Lines (April 2, 1865).

Accompanying these salient chapters are original maps by Civil War cartographer Steven Stanley, together with photos and illustrations. The result is a richer and deeper understanding of the major military episodes comprising the Petersburg Campaign.

I haven't picked up this book myself, but I did stumble across a pretty scathing review of it which is endorsed by at least :

Josh wrote: "[bookcover:The Long Road to Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution]

I haven't picked up this book myself, but I did stumble across a pretty scathing review of it which is endorsed by at l..."

From some of the reader reviews I've read, it sounded pretty revisionist.

Ooops, luckily I ordered a copy of this book instead:


by D. Scott Hartwig

Behind The Grey

My debut novel "Behind the Grey" is probably one of the "newest" Civil War books out there. I didn't see a place to introduce myself anywhere else in other discussions so I'll do it here. I'm thrilled to find so many excellent suggestions of reading material. I'm passionate about this period in history, mostly because I had family that fought on both sides. When I read about the over 400 documented cases of women who fought in that war disguised as men, the seed was sown for what has become a series for me. The first book was published in December 2012 and the second is on my publisher's slate for April 2013. I'm excited about the research ahead!!! More trips to battlefields. Yay! Looking forward to meeting others who share my passion. Thanks for the great suggestions of new books to add to my list. I hope you enjoy mine. Fiction, based in historical fact.

My civil war Historical Fiction novel SIDESHOW AT HONEY CREEK is now available on Create Space. Want it as a real book made of paper?

Click here:

Want the ebook:

I've just ordered myself a copy of this book which is due out in a few days, it sounds a bit different but has been getting good advance reviews:

by Tom Huntington
From the book's web site:
History has pretty much given George Gordon Meade a bum deal. He helped save the Union as the commanding general at Gettysburg, but no one has written a major biography of him in years. Sure, he has a statue at Gettysburg, but the memorial to the man he whipped, Confederate General Robert E. Lee, stands atop a pedestal that looks to be twice as high as Meade’s. In fact, history has been pretty good about putting Lee atop pedestals, despite the facts that he fought against a country to which he had sworn loyalty, to sustain a government that considered human slavery as its cornerstone. For many, Lee will always be the greatest general of them all. Except Meade beat Lee at Gettysburg.

Meade, it seems, is the Rodney Dangerfield of Civil War generals. He gets no respect. Ulysses S. Grant became president and occupies the $50 bill. Civil War soldiers Hayes, Garfield and McKinley also reached the White House. As for Meade: after the battle of Gettysburg President Abraham Lincoln wrote him a letter to chide him about not immediately counterattacking Lee’s army.

Adding insult to injury, later in the war Meade had to testify about his generalship at Gettysburg before a Congressional Committee, mainly because the man who had almost cost him the battle—General Daniel Sickles—was busy spreading rumors that Meade had intended to retreat from the battlefield.

In the last year or so of the war Meade also had Grant, now the general-in-chief of the Union armies, looking over his shoulder. And he had to deal with a conspiracy among newspaper reporters, who banded together and agreed not to mention Meade in their dispatches.

Meade didn’t get a statute in Washington, D.C., until 1927. It was one of the last Civil War memorials erected in the nation’s capital, and it got there only after years of bureaucratic wrangling.

There just ain’t no justice.

In Searching for Meade, I will combine travel and history into an engaging mix that will inform and entertain as I investigate the life and times of George Gordon Meade. Stackpole Books will publish it in February 2013, just in time for the 150th anniversary of Meade’s greatest triumph, the Battle of Gettysburg.


Here’s what Meade’s contemporaries had to say:
“General Meade will make no mistake on my front, and should I make one, will be quick to seize upon it.�� —Confederate General Robert E. Lee

“Meade was one of our most dreaded foes; he was always in deadly earnest, and he eschewed all trifling.�� —Confederate General D.H. Hill

“Meade is a rough customer when under fire.�� —A Union soldier at Fredericksburg

“He is a slasher, is the General, and cuts up people without much mercy.�� —Theodore Lyman

Advance Reviews:
“Searching for George Gordon Meade is a splendid book! Well-researched, well-reasoned and well-written, it’s a timely and vital addition to the all-too-meager literature on this neglected American hero. Strongly recommended for serious historians as well as for a general readership. Excellent!�� - Ralph Peters, author of Cain at Gettysburg

“Despite his great victory at Gettysburg and his command of the army that forced Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, George Meade saw his fame eclipsed by that of Lee, Grant, and other Civil War generals. This book does a great deal to redress that historical injustice. Tom Huntington has invented a new genre of biography that shifts between past and present as he tells the story of Meade’s life and describes his own pilgrimage to the key sites of that life. The result is an engrossing narrative that the reader can scarcely put down.�� - James M. McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

”Much more than another Civil War biography, Tom Huntington’s gripping personal ‘search�� for George Gordon Meade is unique and irresistible: a combination life story, military history, travelogue, and cultural commentary that brings us closer than ever to the old general and his strange reputation—and also opens new windows to our own unending search for an understandable national identity.�� - Harold Holzer, Chairman, Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation

Not One Among Them Whole A Novel of Gettysburg

Introducing a new novel of stunning intensity and great beauty...
NOT ONE AMONG THEM WHOLE by Edison McDaniels tells the story of a group of surgeons working amid the chaos and carnage at the Battle of Gettysburg. See the five star reviews at Amazon & view the trailer on YouTube.
Available now as an eBook.

From a ŷ������ reviewer:

Edison McDaniels is a surgeon and a talented, brave writer. 

His book describes the terrible conditions that surrounded the wounded, the surgeons, the embalmers, and the dead at Gettysburg. This story is not for the fainthearted; McDaniels bombards the reader with vivid details of wounds, procedures, and the overwhelming task of caring for soldiers. He trusts that you have come into his world to experience reality and to live in that world long enough to have your sense of history deepened.

The immense suffering and loss is underscored by two enemy soldiers lying on the field unnoticed, bonding in ways that demonstrate the strength of the human spirit and, at the same time, how inconsequential they were to the totality of the struggle.

Jupiter Jones is a talented embalmer, an artist who respects his clients and works to return them to a world outside the war zone with dignity. The exhausted surgeons do their work without the knowledge of sterile conditions and time for aftercare.


If you want to understand the Civil War, this book provides necessary insight.

New book on Gettysburg due out in a few months, sounds pretty good:



by Allen C. Guelzo
Description:
From the acclaimed Civil War historian, and coinciding with 150th anniversary of the legendary battle: a brilliant new history--the most intimate and richly readable account we have had--that draws the reader into the muck and grime of Gettysburg alongside the ordinary soldier, and depicts, as never before, the combination of personalities and circumstances that produced one of the great battles of all time.

Though the Battle of Gettysburg has been written about at length and thoroughly dissected in terms of strategic importance, never before has a book dived down so closely to the individual soldier to explore the experience of the three days of intense fighting for the people involved, or looked so closely at the way politics swayed military decisions, or placed the battle in the context of nineteenth-century military practice. Guelzo shows us the face, the sights and sounds of nineteenth-century combat: the stone walls and gunpowder clouds of Pickett's Charge; the reason that the Army of Northern Virginia could be smelled before it could be seen; the march of thousands of men from the banks of the Rappahannock in Virginia to the Pennsylvania hills. What emerges is a previously untold story: from the personal politics roiling the Union and Confederate officer ranks, to the peculiar character of artillery units. Through such scrutiny the cornerstone battle of the Civil War is given extraordinarily vivid new life.

I have published a book of letters to a Union soldier written in 1862 and 1863. 100% nonfiction. They reflect on conditions in Missouri, Arkansas, and the Mississippi valley. Titled "Bushwhackers and Broken Hearts."

I very much enjoyed Divided Loyalties by James W. Finck which examines the causes and consequences of Kentucky's decision to remain neutral during the Civil War. The topic of neutrality captured my attention after I re-read Battle Cry of Freedom and for the first time noticed and really paid attention to McPherson's brief discussion about Kentucky (pg. 294). In my opinion, the decision of Kentucky and a few other states to remain neutral has traditionally been under researched when considering the tactical and political significance of those decisions. I understand that books about battles and generals will be of a wider interest but for those interested in a broader and more complete understanding of the Civil War, Divided Loyalties is s great place to start. The book was published in 2012 I believe.

This new book may interest some members of this group, its not due out for a few more months though:


by Michael Korda
Description:
New York Times bestselling author Michael Korda's fresh, contemporary single volume historical biography of General Robert E. Lee—perhaps the most famous and least understood legend in American history and one of our most admired heroes.

Michael Korda, author of Ulysses S. Grant and the bestsellers Ike and Hero, paints a vivid and admiring portrait of Lee as a brilliant general, a devoted family man, and principled gentleman who disliked slavery and disagreed with secession, yet who refused command of the Union Army in 1861 because he could not "draw his sword" against his beloved Virginia.

Well-rounded and realistic, Clouds of Glory analyzes Lee's command during the Civil War and explores his responsibility for the fatal stalemate at Antietam, his defeat at Gettysburg (as well the many troubling controversies still surrounding it) and ultimately, his failed strategy for winning the war. As Korda shows, Lee's dignity, courage, leadership, and modesty made him a hero on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line and a revered American icon who is recognized today as the nation's preeminent military leader.

Clouds of Glory features dozens of stunning illustrations, some never before seen, including twelve pages of color, twenty-four pages of black-and-white, and nearly fifty in-text battle maps.

I just won an auction for several very interesting Civil War books.

The first is: by John Pope

Altough mine is the original one, printed in 1863 and has 256 pages.

Second is:

All others are not on ŷ������ yet. I'll place them on here once I have the time to take some pictures of the books:

Official Report of the Battle of Shiloh, Tennessee, on the 6th and 7th April; The Battle of the 6th and 7 April 1862, near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee �� by Major General McClernand and Major General D.C. Buell
[Washington, Government Printing Office, 1862]

Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, in three parts �� Washington, Government Printing Office, 1863

Major General John Pope, en anderen �� Supplemental Report of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, in 2 volumes �� Washington, Government Printing Office, 1866

And a massive book called: American Civil War, House of Representatives Federal Gover[n]ment Contracts (typo not my own but on the cover of the book).

Some excellent purchases there Singleton, well done!

Hi all,

We recently released Ashes of Soldiers, . It is a collection of excerpts from Walt Whitman’s The Wound Dresser, originally published in 1898.

A little bit about the title:
For three years, Whitman was a voluntary visitor and source of consolation to the wounded soldiers of the Civil War who lay in hospitals, ministering to them in their critical moments of courage and suffering. The resulting notebooks, newspaper dispatches, and letters recounting his experience combined to create an intimate, moving portrait of the personal side of the war.

Whitman’s accounts are tender and his ability to engage and portray the trials, character, and dignity of the common person in nineteenth-century America are what helped elevate him as an epic poet of democracy.

Read it and let us know what you think!

I realize that by now the book's been out for a couple years, but the Iron Brigade history looks very interesting. I've added it to my books to read.

"Gettysburg: The Last Invasion" is my favorite in-depth history of Gettysburg. I had got a reading copy from the library and liked it so much I immediately purchased the book to have on my shelf. There are a lot of primary sources which really gives the reader a sense of the confusion of the battle for both the leaders and the troops. I appreciated Guelzo's insight to General Lee's character and decisions - No, Lee wasn't crazy at Gettysburg!

Sarah wrote: "I realize that by now the book's been out for a couple years, but the Iron Brigade history looks very interesting. I've added it to my books to read."

I still haven't read my copy :)

There is also this book on the subject that I thought was quite good:

by Alan T. Nolan

I have also just finished "Gettysburg: The Last Invasion", by Guelzo. Like Sarah, I was borrowing a copy from a friend, but soon bought my own copy so I could underline key passages and take border notes. I have many Gettysburg books on my bookshelf and was not sure if I wanted to purchase this one, based on one review I had read. I highly recommend this book for any Gettysburg afficiando. There is much to learn from it's pages, even if you think you have read enough about this battle.

I have to agree with you both, Gettysburg: The Last Invasion was an excellent account and a very good recommendation for anyone who really wants to understand this battle.

by Allen C. Guelzo

Only $1.99 today ay Amazon.

Civil War Infantry Tactics: Training, Combat, and Small-Unit Effectiveness by Earl J Hess

Expected April, 2015

Virginia,

Funny you brought this up as we were just discussing one of his other books on the Stonewall Jackson thread.


Steve

Just learned about it this past week, and I'm looking forward to it. Should be interesting.

Here is a link to the review of James McPherson's new bio of Jefferson Davis in today's NY Times. Note: the reviewer states Davis was Secretary of State in Pierce's cabinet. He was Sec. of War.



The book:

Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief

Sarah wrote: "I realize that by now the book's been out for a couple years, but the Iron Brigade history looks very interesting. I've added it to my books to read."

As is "Those Damned Black Hats The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign." by Lance J. Herdegen.

I have recently finished Jeff Shaara's book "The Smoke at Dawn". It is the story of the battle of Chattanooga in 1863, told in Shaara's unique style. I had the chance to meet Jeff at Gettysburg last weekend and chat with him for a few moments at a book signing in the Visitor Center. A very warm and genuine person to speak with.