American Civil War Books
Compiled by Kim Weaver, OBCWRT member
Soldier of the South: Lieutenant General Richard H. Anderson at War and Peace by Edward J. Hagerty/University of South Carolina Press
Richard H. Anderson excelled as a soldier. Including his time at West Point, he was in uniform continuously from the age of sixteen. He knew little else but a life in the saddle. When the cannons rang out over Charleston harbor, signaling the start of America's Civil War, Anderson resigned his US Army commission and joined his native South Carolina in rebellion against the United States.
Soldier of the South is the first comprehensive examination of Anderson's life, providing a view of an officer's experiences on the frontier, in Mexico, and during the American Civil War. Anderson led Confederate soldiers first in Florida, then from the Peninsula Campaign to Sailor's Creek, where his patchwork corps disintegrated. Edward J. Hagerty considers both the strategic details of Anderson's failures and successes on the battlefield and his personal struggles off it. One of Robert E. Lee's corps commanders, Anderson was the most senior ranking soldier from South Carolina, yet he fell into relative obscurity after the war. Hagerty examines the causes for Anderson's postwar decline and makes the case for his continued significance.
William Watson and the Rob Roy: The Adventures of a Civil War Blockade Runner
by Walter E. Wilson/McFarland
The Rob Roy may be the American Civil War's most famous blockade running schooner. Its fame stems from the spellbinding wartime memoir of its owner and captain, William Watson. This obscure but articulate Scotsman's rollicking tale is a standard maritime reference for scholars and students of America's most tragic conflict. However, his sea story is only partly true. It blends verifiable facts with liberal doses of exaggeration and omission. It was his story after all, and he saw no harm in making himself its hero.
This first-ever critical examination of William Watson's "eyewitness" account relies on widely dispersed contemporary accounts and official reports. The narrative fills in the gaps that Watson left untold and exposes the true history of the people and events surrounding his blockade running adventures. In some cases, the truth is even more remarkable than Watson's fictional version. The resulting saga captures the excitement of this inherently dangerous business with long-deserved historical accuracy.
Preeminent Strategist: General Joseph Eggleston Johnson, The Confederacy’s Most Agile General
by F. Gregory Toretta/Casemate
The Civil War: A Visual History
by DK/DK
George Templeton Strong: Civil War Diaries
by George Templeton Strong/Library of America
Lutheranism and American Culture: The Making of a Distinctive Faith in the Civil War Era by Timothy D. Grundmeier/LSU Press
The Campaign for Atlanta & Sherman’s March to the Sea: Essays on the American Civil War, Volume 3 by Theodore P. Sava (Editor), Stephen Davis (Editor)/Savas Beatie
John Yates Beall, Son of the South: The Life and Death of a Confederate Privateer by Ken Lizzio/McFarland
From Gray to Blue: Galvanized Yankees in the American Civil War by Patrick H. Garrow/University of Tennessee Press
