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U. S. CIVIL WAR BOOKS
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BIOGRAPHIES
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RATINGS:
- Great! Run out and buy it!
- Good! Recommended!
- Flawed! Some redeeming features. Get it from the library.
- Gawd-awful! Avoid this one!
- Don't Ask!
- Not Rated!
These are, of course, only our opinions. Your comments or
rebuttals to the
Webmaster
are always welcome.
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BENSON, BERRY
Berry Benson's Civil War Book - Memoirs of a Confederate Scout and
Sharpshooter --- By Berry Benson (Edited by Susan Williams Benson)
If you want to get some idea of the dedication and determination of
the Confederate soldiers, this book provides it. It is well written
and appears to be very honest. Benson's comment on the vulgarity of
the Union camps as opposed to that of the Confederate camps
illustrates that times were different then. Although his treatment of
the battles in which he fought is interesting, but brief, I especially
enjoyed the escapes that he made from first, Point Lookout Prison, and
then, from the infamous Elmira Prison in New York (Whoever wrote
"Andersonville", should take a look at Elmira). A thoroughly readible
book. Try to put yourself in his shoes at Spotsylvania, when the
General told him, that, since there was not enough time, he would have
to scout via the enemies's front line rather than go around it!
Now, for something completely different, read Casler's book, described
next.
CASLER, JOHN O.
Four Years in the Stonewall Brigade
--- By John O. Casler (Notes by Dr. James I. Robertson Jr.)
What a scoundrel! All I can say is that John must have had a lot
of nerve to publish his Civil War escapades. I cannot
blame him for being a scrounge considering the constant lack of
sufficient food. It is really amazing how, being a part of Stonewall Jackson's
Corp, he was able to avoid Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville.
Hell, he even saw little action at Gettysburg. Finally, when he was captured, his
talents really came through for him. This little book is interesting, enjoyable,
and amazing!
14
Jefferson Davis.
DAVIS, JEFFERSON
Jefferson Davis --- By Joseph McElroy
FORREST, NATHAN BEDFORD
A Battle From the Start, The Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest --- By Brian
Steel Wills
Not a likeable individual but a good fighter.
Generals of the Civil War
Biographical Sketches of the Principal Leaders --- By Michael Golay
Golay presents photographs and brief biographies of twenty-four Civil War
Generals, twelve on each side. Although the biographies provide just an outline
of the career of each leader, the book can be used as a quick reference or
initial introduction to the Generals.
With hundreds of generals in the Civil War, the selection of twenty-four
principal leaders has to be, to some extent, subjective and if I selected twenty-
four leaders, I have no doubt that they would not be the same as he selected.
Accordingly, it is regrettable that he did not include a larger number of
Generals in the book.
I also have an occasional disagreement with some of his remarks in the bios. For
example, I believe the case has not been made that Nathan Forrest was responsible
for the killings at Mount Pillow. (Would this be called a "Pillow Case"?)
All in all, this is a useful book and I would recommend it while noting its
narrow scope.
16
A. P. Hill.
HILL, A.P.
General A.P.Hill, The Story of a Confederate Warrior --- By James I.
Robertson, Jr.
HOLLWOOD CEMETERY
Hollywood Cemetery, Her Forgotten Soldiers, Confederate Field Officers at
Rest --- By Chris Ferguson
This is not only a very interesting and readable book, it is also a great
reference source.
Hollywood Cemetery, in Richmond, Virginia, is the most
famous of the Confederate cemeteries because of the number and rank of
the Confederate soldiers and officials buried there. Jefferson Davis,
J.E.B Stuart, and George Pickett are just a few of Hollywood Cemetery's
Confederate notables. Thus it is understandable that books have been written
about the Cemetery's more famous residents.
In his book,
"Hollywood Cemetery, Her
Forgotten Soldiers", Chris Ferguson provides photographs and biographies for
all of the 106 Confederate Field Officers (Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel, Major,
or Surgeon) in Hollywood Cemetery. Even though the biographies of the officers
(the forgotten soldiers of Hollywood Cemetery) are short, about a page each,
they make compelling reading. In addition to the photographs and biographies
of the officers; notes, source references, and grave locations are given. The
grave locations are referenced to a map of Hollywood Cemetery included in the
appendix.
As Ferguson says in the Introduction: "The purpose of this book is to record the
deeds of Confederate field officers buried at Hollywood. It is for the families
of these long-forgotten men who did their duty when their country called."
The book is well written and structured so that you can start reading it from any
page that you open, or you can read it from cover-to-cover. I really enjoyed this
book. It is truly worth owning.
HOTCHKISS, JEDEDIAH
Make Me a Map of the Valley, The Civil War Journal of Stonewall
Jackson's Topographer
--- By Jedediah Hotchkiss (Edited by Archie P. McDonald)
This is not a book for the casual student of the Civil War. It is a
day-by-day journel of Jedediah Hotchkiss's life during the Civil War,
which mainly consisted of traveling the roads of Virginia and drawing
maps. It is boring stuff to someone who is not immersed in the Civil War and
is not familiar with what was going on at the time of the entries. But,
in other ways, it is a wonderful document. As Jackson and Lee's
topographer, Hotchkiss participated in, or was on the periphery of,
many historical meetings. The occasional jewels that he drops among
the pages of this book are well worth the effort to get around the
constant "Reduction of map ..." refrain.
I am glad that the publisher took a risk and produced this chronology.
15
Stonewall Jackson.
JACKSON, THOMAS J.
Stonewall Jackson --- By James I. Robertson, Jr.
What a great book! Robertson has produced a thoroughly
readable and detailed life of Jackson, including a lot of new
information. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested
in Jackson or the Civil War.
1
Robert E. Lee.
LEE, ROBERT E.
Lee, The Last Years --- By Charles Bracelen Flood
Lee, from the surrender until his death, is described in great detail
in this thoroughly researched and well written book. It provides an
important chapter in American history. As the author says, Lee would
have been famous for what he accomplished after the war even if he had
never participated in the war. He not only did more than any other
American to heal the wounds between the North and South after the war
but as President of Washington College (Now Washington & Lee) he
instituted changes that were copied throughout the world and are even
used in colleges and Universities to this day.
Get this book, if you want to avoid the current politically-correct propaganda
against Lee and really understand the character of the South's, indeed America's,
greatest general.
LEE, ROBERT E.
LEE --- By Douglas Southall Freeman
This classic four volume biography and this author need no description by me. It
is the
great biography of the Civil War. There is also an Abridgment by Richard Harwell.
Note: The complete four volumes, nearly one million words,
"LEE --- By Douglas Southall Freeman" is now online,
placed there by Mr. Bill Thayer.
10
James Longstreet.
LONGSTREET, JAMES
General James Longstreet, The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier --- By
Jeffery D. Wert
There are a lot of people currently defending Longstreet and saying that the
attacks on him after the war were from people who were trying to make Lee a saint
and thus made Longstreet the scapegoat. Well, from the viewpoint of someone who
thinks both Lee and Longstreet were great, I must say that my readings about
Gettysburg make it very difficult to assign failure to Lee, but it does seem
likely that Longstreet's actions were contributory to the failure. But I digress.
Read Wert's biography of Longstreet and see if you reach my conclusions. Like
all of Wert's Civil War books, this is an enjoyable read.
17
John S. Mosby.
MOSBY, JOHN SINGLETON
Mosby's Memoirs --- By Colonel John S. Mosby
Anything written by a major participant in the Civil War, such as
Mosby, is interesting. Written long after the war ended, this book
provides a different perspective. It is strange to read Mosby
referring to the phone! Not a book for the reader looking for Civil
War battles in detail, it is a good and interesting read.
MOSBY, JOHN SINGLETON
Mosby's Rangers --- By Jeffery D. Wert
Wert knows Mosby better than Mosby, or so it appears. This is the
book for the reader disappointed in Mosby's Memoirs, above. I know
that Mosby wrote other books and, given time, I'll comment on them
here. This book is quite clearly the result of considerable research
on Mosby's Confederacy. It is a good read.
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