dualer | 20 Feb 2015 10:12 a.m. PST |
At the tender age of 52, I'm just getting into the ACW and have invested in Renegade 28mm miniatures and bought many books on the subject.Just recently I purchased two books by the same author, Bell Irvin Wiley "Billy Yank" and "Johnny Reb". They were very cheap on Amazon, but two of the best books I've come across so far. The author has managed to capture the reasons for why both sides volunteered, the harsh realities of campaigning and less salubrious side of of life, gambling, prostitution, boredom, and make do and mend attitude of both sides. Fascinating stuff and I'd love to find out more. Can anyone recommend any more books that capture the ordinary soldiers story? |
WarWizard | 20 Feb 2015 11:08 a.m. PST |
Here is one I really enjoyed link "In Faces of the Civil War, Coddington presents 77 cartes de visite of Union soldiers from his collection and tells the stories of their lives during and after the war. The soldiers portrayed were wealthy and poor, educated and unschooled, native-born and immigrant, urban and rural. All were volunteers." Each story is accomapined by a photo of the soldier. And the story is only 1 to 3 pages each. You learn whether the soldier survived or not, and other compelling information. Once I started reading it was hard to stop. |
Ed Mohrmann | 20 Feb 2015 11:15 a.m. PST |
dualer, not a book or whatever, but the link below will take you to a site I've been following for almost 5 years. It has tons of outtakes from diaries, letters home, reminiscences, etc., for the most part very personal. Great site. dotcw.com |
Frederick | 20 Feb 2015 11:28 a.m. PST |
Company Aytch – A Side Show of The Big Show link Confederates by Thomas Keneally is fiction but gives a great perspective on the life of an infantry squadie in the Army of Northern Virginia link |
BrianW | 20 Feb 2015 2:40 p.m. PST |
If you like the less salubrious side of things, then I would recommend, "The Story The Soldiers Wouldn't Tell: Sex in the Civil War" by Thomas Lowry. link BWW |
ColCampbell | 20 Feb 2015 6:33 p.m. PST |
Bell Wiley's books are mainstays for the ACW aficionado. You made a good choice! Jim |
jowady | 20 Feb 2015 6:54 p.m. PST |
"Hardtack and Coffee" by John Billings. Billings was a Civil War vet (Union, Army of the Potomac) and his book covers just about everything, from enlistment to rations to Army Mules to punishments. It covers just about everything a soldier would know or care about. |
McLaddie | 20 Feb 2015 9:33 p.m. PST |
For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War 1998 by James M. McPherson This is an extensive study of hundreds of soldiers' letters in an attempt to divine the reasons that Billy Yank and Johnny Reb fought in the war. Well done. |
Extrabio1947 | 21 Feb 2015 6:07 a.m. PST |
An excellent book on the artillery of the Confederate Army of Tennessee is Cannoneers in Gray by Larry Daniel. |
Rebelyell2006 | 21 Feb 2015 12:42 p.m. PST |
Army Life in a Black Regiment by Thomas Wentworth Higginson. The wartime memoirs of an abolitionist Northerner trying to understand the freedmen in his regiment. |
dualer | 22 Feb 2015 12:24 a.m. PST |
Many thanks for all your suggestions, Amazon here we come. |
Billy Yank | 22 Feb 2015 4:40 a.m. PST |
Earl Hess, "The Union Soldier in Battle" A fantastic read that touches on the psychological effects of fighting a Civil War battle. |