Books

Hello. Today I shall tell you how I became so (ill) informed about the Civil War. In a word-books. I was assigned as a Special Education  teacher to teach American History to our students. I chose the American Revolution and the Civil War as my main topics. Knowing very few particulars about the Civil War, I started to read. And read. And read some more. Eventually I acquired a collection of books about the war, some good and some not so good. 

Warning: As I was looking over my collection I came to realize just how many books I had about the battle at Gettysburg, and I confessed to myself what everyone else who knows me already knew-I tend to obsess about Gettysburg. With that in mind, here are some of my favorite books .

1) The Civil War by Shelby Foote. This is a mammoth three volume set that covers all the aspects and theaters of the war in depth. It is telling that it is subtitled "A Narrative". Mr. Foote always described himself as a novelist, and his talent as such shows in the beauty of his prose. Yes, some of his facts are questionable, as is his tendency to favor the Confederacy in his attitude, but the pleasure of reading this collection cannot be trivialized.

Interesting fact-Mr Foote wrote all 2700+ pages by hand. He said that doing it that wasy makes one more careful in the choice of words.

2) The Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. A one volume history of the war which is one of the best, if not the best, one volume treatments of the war. Dr. McPherson lays out the causes of the war and tells of the campaigns in all the theaters. While not as in depth as The Civil War, if you can read only one book to learn about the Civil War, I recommend this one.

Interesting fact-Dr. McPherson believes in writing history so that everyone can read and enjoy it. This has brought criticism down upon him by some of his colleagues.

3) Gettysburg-The First Day, Gettysburg-The Second Day, and Gettysburg-Culps Hill and Cemetery Hill. These three are all by Harry Pfanz, and each tells the story of different critical aspects of the Battle of Gettysburg. Interestingly enough, Mr. Pfanz did not cover Pickett's Charge except to note that some of the Union artillery that opposed it was on Cemetery Hill.

4) The Gettysburg Campaign by Edwin Coddington. Back when I harbored fantasies about becoming a Licensed Battlefield Guide, it was recommended to me that I read this book. It focuses not so much on the fighting, but on the leadership and command decisions made by both sides. I think that this book convinced me that there was much more to a battle and a war than just the fights. Someone has to plan the fights and give the commands, and this book covers all that extremely well. 

Interesting fact-when I saw a sample test for the guides, I realized that I was in way over my head, and immediately doggy paddled back to reality. If you do go to Gettysburg, consider hiring a guide. They know everything there is to know about the battle, and can even make sense of something like The Wheatfield. They are based at the Visitor Center, and during the busy months it would be good to make a reservation. 

5) Gettysburg-A Testing of Courage by Noah Andre Trudeau and Gettysburg by Stephen Sears. Both of these books are by well known Civil War Scholars. Mr. Sears has written a variety of books about the Civil War and some on World War II. Mr Trudeau is best known for Bloody Roads South, a study of the Overland Campaign from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor.
Both of the books about Gettysburg are excellent studies of the battle.

Okay, this is a good start. I'll have more in a future post, and you can see for yourself how obsessed with Gettysburg I am. To be fair, I am more interested in the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac than in other armies and theaters of the war. I see this as a quirk, not a handicap.