Five books on Civil War Nebraska

1. Standing Firmly by the Flag: Nebraska Territory and the Civil War, 1861-1867 (2012)
by James E. Potter. [review]

Potter's comprehensive military and political history of Nebraska's Civil War is easily the most significant book ever published on the subject. Initially conceived as a First Nebraska regimental history, the project morphed into a wider study that also examines the late-war and beyond statehood debates at great length. If you're going to read just one book on Civil War Nebraska, this should be it.

2. Marching with the First Nebraska: A Civil War Diary (2007) August Scherneckau, ed.
by James E. Potter and Edith Robbins (trans.).

Over three thousand Nebraskans fought in the Civil War, with the First Nebraska Volunteer Infantry (later converted into cavalry) being the unit most recognized for its wartime contributions. Unfortunately, the regiment still has no standalone chronicler, although (as mentioned above) Potter includes a great deal of First Nebraska material in Standing Firmly by the Flag. As far as I know, Marching with the First Nebraska is the only edited letter collection, diary, or journal written by a Nebraska soldier or officer that's ever been published in book format.

3. Massacre along the Medicine Road: A Social History of the Indian War of 1864 in Nebraska Territory (1999) by Ronald Becher.

Though no organized Confederate force ever set foot on Nebraska soil, there were other deadly threats to the population. Based on an exhaustive compilation of firsthand accounts, Becher's book details the bloody summer of 1864 in the Nebraska interior, when Sioux and Cheyenne war parties attacked numerous ranches and way stations located along the vital stretch of continental emigrant trails spanning the territory.

4. Powder River Odyssey: Nelson Cole's Western Campaign of 1865, The Journals of Lyman G. Bennett and Other Eyewitness Accounts (2009) by David E. Wagner. [review]

Gary Gallagher vehemently disagrees, but I have maintained for the past 15 years on the site that drawing links between period Indian conflicts and western expansion to the Civil War's overall picture is worthy of discussion. The 1865 Powder River War was the last major campaign against native tribes that was conducted fully by Civil War volunteer units. Part of a three-pronged punitive expedition, Cole's wing, having set out from Omaha, spent the most time in Nebraska itself.

5. The Civil War in the Northwest: Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and the Dakotas (1960) by Robert Huhn Jones.

I probably wouldn't have included Jones's book if the pickings weren't already getting so thin. Though a classic study, the title oversells its coverage by a wide shot. If I recall correctly, there isn't very much in the way of proportional Nebraska content or focus inside even though it merits first mention in the subtitle.

Five Books on the Capture and Occupation of New Orleans

On this week 157 years ago, New Orleans fell to Union forces in shocking fashion. Many observers then and now (including the author of an upcoming ECW volume) have deemed the sudden loss of the South's largest city and its extensive port and manufacturing facilities a "mortal blow" to Confederate hopes. I've often lamented the many missed publishing opportunities of the Sesquicentennial and one of the biggest was the absence of a new study of Civil War New Orleans (which actually merits a multi-volume treatment integrating military history with occupation, emancipation, and wartime reconstruction studies). Admittedly, that would be quite a project. In the meantime, here are five books worth checking out.

1. The Night the War Was Lost by Charles L. Dufour (1960).

The late Art Bergeron was my go to guy when it came to advice about the best Civil War Louisiana books and articles. With the obvious caveat that the field of contenders was, and is still, decidedly light (there are really only two), it was Art's opinion that Dufour's older study was the best available. I agree, though without any great enthusiasm. In all my visits to libraries and bookstores, I don't believe I ever saw a copy of the original hardcover edition. My own reading experience was with the 1994 Bison Books reissue that had the cool cover art.

2. The Capture of New Orleans, 1862 by Chester G. Hearn (1995).

Hearn's book provides readers with a serviceable account of the military campaign that resulted in the Crescent City's fall.

3. A Civil War Correspondent in New Orleans: The Journals and Reports of Albert Gaius Hills of the Boston Journal edited by Gary L. Dyson (2012).

This is my favorite collection of eyewitness accounts of the campaign written by a civilian observer.

4. Mutiny at Fort Jackson: The Untold Story of the Fall of New Orleans by Michael D. Pierson (2012).

I didn't buy in to every element of Pierson's thesis, but he definitely presents an interesting non-traditional take on the role Fort Jackson's disaffected rank-and-file defenders (whom the author alleges to have been closet-Unionists) had in hastening the city's fall.

5. Occupied City: New Orleans under the Federals 1862-1865 by Gerald J. Capers (1965).

It says something about the dated state of the literature that the standard work on the long-term occupation of a city as significant as New Orleans was to both sides is over five decades old. We are certainly due for a new one. More recent work has greatly revised the image and legacy of Benjamin Butler, who was the "Beast" of New Orleans to many but also bettered the lot of the city's poorer classes and made it a much healthier and safer place to live as well.

Five Books on Civil War archaeology

1. Look To Earth: Historical Archaeology and the American Civil War by Clarence R. Geier, Jr. & Susan E. Winter (1994).

All of the contributors to my most recent read, Joan Cashin's War Matters (review to follow later this month), enjoin their still largely skeptical professional colleagues to incorporate material culture studies into their own work. Since modern historical archaeology offers us some of the best ways to facilitate this connectivity, I thought I would highlight some good representative examples from the book literature. The description to Look to Earth provides a nice summary of how and why this approach to history can be important: "archaeological research can be used alongside historical documentation to verify or discount events referred to in the printed record; it can also provide physical details of events that may not be available in written reports. In some cases, historical archaeology may provide the only documentation of particular events and effects of the war. This is especially true with regard to those segments of society - freed slaves, poor whites, farmers, and rural millers, among others - whose voices have been lost in the filtering process of history." The topical expansiveness of Look to Earth makes it a fine introduction to Civil War archaeology.

2. Archaeological Perspectives on the American Civil War edited by Clarence R. Geier and Stephen R. Potter (2003) [Review].

This is another great stepping stone into gaining an appreciation of Civil War archaeology. Exploring archaeological insights into the conduct of Civil War battles along with home front and army life, the essays cover a wide range of topics on and off the battlefield. The book also has a fascinating section on the use of new methodologies, technology, and equipment.

3. From These Honored Dead: Historical Archaeology of the American Civil War edited by Clarence R. Geier, Douglas D. Scott, & Lawrence E. Babits (2014) [Review].

Yes, Clarence Geier, one of the preeminent figures in Civil War archaeology, is a common thread on this list! Another anthology with a diverse range of essays looking at battles, battlefields, camps, fortifications, army life, and more, this one is unique in its emphasis (in Part 1 of 3 anyway) on Trans-Mississippi battles, where Douglas Scott has done much of his professional work.

4. Huts and History: The Historical Archaeology of Military Encampment During the American Civil War edited by David G. Orr, Matthew B. Reeves, & Clarence R. Geier (2006) [Review].

As the title suggests, this collection of essays explores a variety of methods for interpreting and preserving Civil War camps. These lived-in spaces are where soldiers spent the greatest amount of time during their military service and are some of the richest sources of artifacts.

5. Misadventures of a Civil War Submarine: Iron, Guns, and Pearls by James P. Delgado (2012) [Review].

In the marine archaeology arena much as been written about the famous CSS Hunley and USS Monitor, so I thought I would instead highlight a fine history and archaeological study of an obscure, technologically-advanced Civil War submersible, a diving bell-submarine hybrid its designer called the Sub Marine Explorer.

Five books on the Missouri State Guard in action

1. The Battle Of Carthage: Border War In Southwest Missouri by David C. Hinze and Karen Farnham (1997).

Last time, a list of five essential Missouri State Guard reference books was presented. Today, we'll look at five representative studies of MSG operations in the field, listed in chronological order by event. Though Kenneth Burchett's more recent study of the July 5, 1861 Battle of Carthage is wider in scope (see my review), it does not supplant Hinze and Farnham's account of the fighting, and the latter serves our purposes here better with its primary focus on MSG units and men.

2. Skim Milk Yankees Fighting: The Battle of Athens, Missouri, August 5, 1861
by Jonathan K. Cooper-Wiele (2007).

One might not expect the obscure little battle at Athens to have two book treatments, but it does. Ben F. Dixon and Patricia Mullenix's The Battle of Athens (1991) is a worthwhile and now hard to find source compilation, but Cooper-Wiele's well-researched book is clearly the best available narrative history of the battle. Its discussion of military events and MSG operations in NE Missouri during the opening moments of the war is invaluable.

3. Wilson's Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It
by William Garrett Piston and Richard W. Hatcher (2000).

Ed Bearss's The Battle of Wilson's Creek has undergone several editions and is still a highly useful classic account. In some ways, I prefer its tactical treatment of the battle to Piston & Hatcher's, but Wilson's Creek is the most comprehensive and expansively researched examination of the battle and the MSG's integral role in it.

4. The Siege of Lexington, Missouri: The Battle of the Hemp Bales by Larry Wood (2014).

Rumors that Michael Gillespie was looking to expand his wonderful plus-sized pamphlet history of the MSG's Lexington Campaign into a full-fledged book treatment unfortunately never panned out. Though also not definitive in scale, Wood's book picks up the slack and easily provides the most detailed overall account of the MSG's last great independent operation.

5. Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West by William L. Shea and Earl J. Hess (1992).

In addition to being the standard study of the Battle of Pea Ridge, Shea and Hess's book recounts at unsurpassed depth the MSG's participation in the battle and the events leading up to it. This campaign marks the Guard's last significant field operation, with most of its members either joining Confederate service or going home.

Five books on the Missouri State Guard

1. Sterling Price's Lieutenants: A Guide to the Officers and Organization of the Missouri State Guard, 1861-1865 by Richard C. Peterson, James E. McGhee, Kip A. Lindberg & Keith I. Daleen (2nd edition, 2007).

No comprehensive history of the Missouri State Guard has ever been undertaken, but the MSG's wartime operations have been discussed extensively in a number of readily available military studies. However, this list is dedicated to reference works (though perhaps a future one will cover the Guard in action). In my mind, the most essential of these is Sterling Price's Lieutenants. First published in 1995, it underwent revision for a new edition in 2007 (see the above link for my review of the latter). All of the books on this list are not only out of print but their publishers are defunct (thus the absence of links), so grab a copy when and where you can!

2. Record and Order Book: Missouri State Guard 1861-1862 by James E. McGhee (2001).

Tradition holds that MSG sources are scant and the organization's recordkeeping particularly spotty, but I've been told by those in the know that more than enough primary source material exists in archives across the country to construct a reasonably good history. Many of the documents related to the Guard's most active period are transcribed and collected in this very useful book.

3. The Forgotten Men: Missouri State Guard by Carolyn Bartels (1995).

Bartels gleaned from the National Archives a MSG roster of over 7,000 names (which was a good start at the time). From these materials, the author also pieced together a casualty list and an index of over 3,000 additional names mentioned in the files.

4. More Forgotten Men: Missouri State Guard by Wayne Schnetzer (2003).

A continuation of the work of Bartels, Schnetzer's book added more than 4,000 names to the list compiled in The Forgotten Men.

5. Missouri’s State Guard: Their Officers and Men - Tried Soldiers, Full of Zeal for the Cause: A Brief History of the Missouri State Guard After Pea Ridge March 9, 1862 - Spring of 1865 by Wayne Schnetzer (2011).

Though the bulk of the guardsmen that wished to continue fighting transferred to Confederate service by the end of spring 1862, the MSG remained in existence throughout the war. Schnetzer's narrative recounts this much lesser-known history of the State Guard, and his book also includes a number of useful appendices (among them a fairly extensive roster of MSG officers and men who served between March 1862 and June 1865).

Five Books on the Civil War in Southern Appalachia

1. Civil War In Appalachia: Collected Essays (1997) edited by Kenneth W. Noe and
    Shannon H. Wilson.

I try to place a general overview of some kind at the top of each list in this series. I don't know of any comprehensive narrative survey of the entire region (that would be a big job, especially at this point), but this anthology has more than enough geographic and thematic range to serve as a useful introduction. If you go here, you can scroll down and view the table of contents. Of course, this book didn't mark the beginning of modern Civil War in Southern Appalachia studies, but I think it deserves credit for helping spark wider interest in the topic among both scholars and readers.

2. Clash of Loyalties: A Border County in the Civil War (2003) by John W. Shaffer.

The next four books represent a north to south geographical swing through titles representative of the best modern scholarship of Southern Appalachia's Civil War. Shaffer's book is a microstudy of Barbour County, West Virginia, which is located in the northern part of the state, not too far from the Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia borders. Its young men of fighting age joined the opposing armies in evenly split numbers, and patterns of deeply divided loyalties across every class and bitter internecine Civil War violence established here would continue down the spine of Southern Appalachia.

3. Contested Borderland: The Civil War in Appalachian Kentucky and Virginia
   (2006) by Brian D. McKnight.

McKnight's book provides an in-depth perspective on the back and forth fighting over the strategically important mountain gaps separating SE Kentucky and SW Virginia, emphasizing the resources targeted by both sides and the suffering of civilians caught in the middle. The study also demonstrates the plastic nature of the local population's loyalties, their allegiance shifts an essential coping mechanism to off and on occupation by both sides and for dealing with threats to life and property from frequent battles, raids, and guerrilla action.

4. The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina in the Civil War
    (2000) by John C. Inscoe and Gordon B. McKinney.

An across the board examination of the Civil War in western North Carolina (with chapters covering politics, loyalty, Unionism, guerrilla warfare, slavery, economics, women at war, and more) Inscoe and McKinney's book is rightly regarded as a new classic and model for other local and regional Appalachian Civil War studies to follow. Like the Noe and Wilson volume mentioned earlier, it has proven highly influential.

5. A Separate Civil War: Communities in Conflict in the Mountain South (2006)
    by Jonathan Dean Sarris.

Finally, Jonathan Sarris takes a closer look at two North Georgia counties straddling the Blue Ridge. As other scholars have discovered, Sarris finds that localism very often superseded ideological concerns and national, or even state, loyalties for many citizens living in the more isolated areas of the Confederacy. The inner war was the Civil War for a great many Fannin and Lumpkin county Georgians.

Yes, I know I left out the part of Appalachia arguably best covered in the literature, East Tennessee, as a standalone entry (to compensate, it is pretty well covered in the essay collection) as well as some other regions associated with the terminal run of the Appalachian uplands stretching across the far northern parts of more Deep South states, but I'm limited to five books here!

Five books on the Irish and the Civil War (St. Patrick's Day edition)

If you're reading this post and see ten books then come back tomorrow when you're more sober. Also, yes, I am fully aware that when it comes to this subject I could probably come up with a dozen of these lists and not repeat a title. That said, I think these five selections offer a pretty well-rounded introduction to the Irish-American experience in the ACW.

1. The Irish Brigade In The Civil War: The 69th New York and Other Irish Regiments of The Army Of The Potomac by Joseph G. Bilby (1998).

Unless I'm missing the elephant (pink or otherwise) in the room, I don't recall a definitive-level Irish Brigade study towering head and shoulders above the rest. I do think Bilby's will serve the purpose of providing  readers with a solid overview of the war's most famous ethnic brigade. Apparently, there was a 1998 hardcover special edition that sold out quickly, with the 2001 Da Capo paperback being the one generally available.

2. Shades of Green: Irish Regiments, American Soldiers, and Local Communities in the Civil War Era by Ryan W. Keating (2017).

Keating's book impressively examines the war and home front community connections of three regionally representative Irish regiments. It also has important things to say about the unending alienation vs. assimilation debates.

3. The Irish General: Thomas Francis Meagher by Paul R. Wylie (2007).

I wanted to include one biography here, and Meagher was arguably the most famous Irish-American Civil War soldier. The two most recently published full biographies were both authored by non-historians, but I'll put Wylie's on the list as the more scholarly of the two.

4. Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War
    by James B. Swan (2009).

With the vast majority of published works devoted to the Irish regiments that fought with the Army of the Potomac, we shouldn't overlook the western theater's hard-fighting Irish units. Swan's book offers a fine study of one of these lesser-celebrated Union regiments.

5. The Green and the Gray: The Irish in the Confederate States of America
    by David T. Gleeson (2013).

Outside of Patrick Cleburne, the Confederacy's Irish soldiers are by far the least recognized of those that fought on either side during the war. Some unit studies exist (ex. James Gannon's history of the 6th Louisiana, Irish Rebels, Confederate Tigers), but I chose Gleeson's book for its broader discussion of the Irish-American experience in the South before, during, and after the Civil War.

Five books on Civil War siege artillery

1. The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannon by Edwin Olmstead, Wayne E. Stark, and Spencer C. Tucker (1997).

A comprehensive reference guide, this book is commonly regarded as the bible of the Civil War heavy artillery used by both sides. It's been out of print for quite a while with online secondary market prices undulating wildly between barely three figures and outrageous placeholder numbers that no one would ever pay (see the link above!).

2. Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance: A Guide to Large Artillery Projectiles, Torpedoes, and Mines by Jack Bell (2003).

Striving to be the most essential reference on heavy artillery ammunition, Bell's book is a fitting supplement to The Big Guns.

3. Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War by Warren Ripley (1970).

If a Brinks truck hasn't crashed and spilled its contents in your neighborhood then Ripley's more general purpose classic will still serve as a decent budget alternative to the above pair of far more definitive-level works. It has gone through multiple editions over the years. My personal copy is a 1984 Fourth (revised) Edition.

4. Sumter Is Avenged!: The Siege and Reduction of Fort Pulaski by Herbert M. Schiller (1995).

The next two books in the list (one Union and one Confederate in perspective) explore the big guns in action. One of my favorites, and one of the better White Mane titles from its run, is Schiller's study of the devastating effects of Civil War large-bore rifled artillery on a Third System masonry fort.

5. Siege Train: The Journal of a Confederate Artilleryman in the Defense of Charleston
edited by Warren Ripley (1986).

Ripley's book offers an interesting glimpse into the other side of things. From July 1863 through the end of August 1864, Confederate artillery major Edward Manigault wrote a wonderfully observant daily account of the Siege of Charleston. His is a unique record of events, and given the journal's official status also an incredible compilation of detailed administrative information regarding Confederate heavy artillery.

On a final note, I was tempted to include this on the list but ultimately decided to keep to my 'book only' rule for the "Five on..." feature. Anyone with more than a passing interest in Civil War heavy guns will greatly benefit from following Craig Swain's To the Sound of the Guns and his many deeply informative posts on the topic.

Five Books on the Battle of Fort Donelson

In commemoration of the Battle of Fort Donelson, which was fought during this week in 1862:

1. Grant Invades Tennessee: The 1862 Battles for Forts Henry and Donelson
by Timothy B. Smith (2016).

Smith's book is by far the deepest and best operational and tactical treatment of the campaign and its battles. The study also raises the strategic stature of the fall of Fort Henry, an event most often sidelined in campaign evaluations in favor of the much larger, bloodier, and dramatic Donelson battle and surrender that followed it.

2. Forts Henry and Donelson: The Key to the Confederate Heartland by B.F. Cooling (1987).

Over thirty years old now (yikes), Cooling's book has stood the test of time and is the classic standby when it comes to viewing the campaign through the widest lens. It ably combines a solid recounting of military events with regional social, political, and economic discussions.

3. Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign, February 1862 by Kendall D. Gott (2003).

Also a reasonably detailed narrative history of the campaign, the differentiating feature of Gott's study is its central focus on leadership and command (in particular the failures on the Confederate side).

4. The Battle of Fort Donelson: No Terms But Unconditional Surrender by James R. Knight (2011).

This is for those that want a sound overview of events without having to read a full-length study. Knight has demonstrated a fine ability to condense Civil War subjects into tight little narratives for popular consumption (I especially liked his Pea Ridge effort).

5. Fort Donelson's Legacy: War and Society in Kentucky and Tennessee, 1862-1863
by B.F. Cooling (1997).

Discussing the long shadow of Fort Donelson in a variety of contexts, this volume is the expansive sequel to Cooling's Donelson study referenced above. The author's multi-level exploration of the Civil War in the TN-KY heartland would eventually reach trilogy status with 2011's To the Battles of Franklin and Nashville and Beyond: Stabilization and Reconstruction in Tennessee and Kentucky, 1864–1866 (which I have not read).

Five good biographies of not very good Civil War generals (gray edition)

1. Theophilus Hunter Holmes: A North Carolina General in the Civil War
by Walter C. Hilderman III (2013).

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this biography. Quite naturally, the book highlights the many negative aspects of Holmes's military career, but it also proved quite insightful in its recognition of some of the general's more favorable qualities and notable administrative achievements.

2. Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography by Craig L. Symonds (1992).

Joe Johnston will always be controversial. He's one of the few very high-ranking Civil War generals that might find a place on both best and worst lists compiled by serious-minded people. Given the wide difference in opinion over his merits, in combination with the many profoundly important command appointments he held throughout the war, it's rather surprising that we don't have more biographies from which to choose. Symonds offers a solid, evenhanded study of Johnston's strengths and weaknesses.

3. Pemberton: A Biography by Michael B. Ballard (1991).

Even though David M. Smith's masterful editing of Pemberton's written apologia [see Compelled to Appear in Print: The Vicksburg Manuscript of General John C. Pemberton (1999)] provides us with a very underrated analysis and understanding of Pemberton's actions during the Vicksburg Campaign, it's undeniable that the northern-born Confederate general made a bad botch of things during the mobile phase of Grant's masterpiece. As others have argued, Ballard's biography makes the case that Pemberton's talents best suited him to desk work rather than field generalship.

4. General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West by Albert Castel (1968).

Sterling Price has been the subject of a few biographies, none of them recent. Though a bit dated at this point, Castel's study, which appeared after Ralph Rea's book and a few years before Robert Shalhope's, is regarded by most as the best overall treatment. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing another scholar take a shot at it.

5. The Life and Wars of Gideon J. Pillow by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr. and Roy P. Stonesifer Jr. (1993).

Pillow's generalship is universally panned by scholars and enthusiasts alike, but Hughes and Stonesifer's book reminds readers that there was more to Pillow's service than the embarrassing debacle at Fort Donelson and accusations of cowardice at Stones River (ex. Pillow helped create and organize what would eventually become the Army of Tennessee, and he directed recruitment and conscription efforts in the western theater).

Five good biographies of not very good Civil War generals (blue list)

1. Burnside (1991) by William Marvel.

I initially wanted to put a Ben Butler book somewhere on this list but quickly discovered that I don't know enough about any of the existing biographical treatments. Though both individuals have gained favor in different ways in the more recent scholarly literature, certainly Ambrose Burnside still joins Butler on any enthusiast top 10 list of worst Civil War generals. Marvel was perhaps the first respected historian to attempt a serious rehabilitation of Burnside's military career, and his work has had lasting influence. The biography is certainly good by any measure.

2. Pathfinder: John Charles Fremont and the Course of American Empire (2002)
by Tom Chaffin.

Pathfinder provides a good overall picture of Fremont's life as famous explorer, military officer, and politician, but it is rather disappointingly thin on his Civil War career (only a single chapter in a very large book, if I recall correctly). I'm still waiting for someone to write a book-length study of Fremont's controversial 100 days in command of the Department of the West.

3. Pretense of Glory: The Life of General Nathaniel P. Banks (1998)
by James G. Hollandsworth.

It's been a long time since I read this (it was probably sometime around its release), but I seem to remember it leaving me with a fairly favorable impression. Unlike Marvel, Hollandsworth doesn't present Banks as an unfairly maligned military figure. Given the literature's greater appreciation of what political generals meant to Union victory, I wouldn't be surprised to see new biographies of Banks, Butler, and others sometime in the foreseeable future.

4. Don Carlos Buell: Most Promising of All (1999) by Stephen D. Engle.

In terms of conservative political outlook and war fighting style, Buell is most often compared to McClellan, though he hasn't benefited from the small pockets of support (or at least sympathy) that Mac has maintained over the years. Engle's book is the first and only (I think) modern, full biography of Buell's life and military career. It also provides a useful examination of a high-ranking general who couldn't survive the transition between limited war and hard war, though I believe that Ethan Rafuse's McClellan's War is the current gold standard for rigorous engagement in that difficult conversation.

5. The Yankee Dutchman: The Life of Franz Sigel (1993) by Stephen D. Engle.

Engle has the honor of having two of his books make the list. Sigel had that maddening combination of being both incompetent and profoundly difficult to work with. Others have cited Sigel's conduct on the decisive day at Pea Ridge being his one shining moment during the war, but I would hesitate to give him even that. Yankee Dutchman provides a well-rounded treatment of Sigel's contributions to the war effort, both on and off the battlefield.

Five books on the 1862 Peninsula Campaign

1. Army of the Potomac: McClellan's First Campaign, March - May 1862 by Russel H. Beatie (2007).

I usually reserve the first spot for some kind of overview, but existing ones from Sears (1992) and Cullen (1973) never really set the bar very high from the start [I've also had a lengthy, self-published study from a fellow named Rudolph Schroeder on my hard drive since 2009 but never really looked at it]. Instead, I decided to go with Beatie Vol. 3's engrossing (and uniquely, if idiosyncratically, expansive) Union high command analysis of the early stages of the campaign through the Battle of Williamsburg.

2. The Battle of Seven Pines, May 31-June 1, 1862 by Steven Newton (1993).

The modern Peninsula literature is very strange in that worthwhile book length accounts exist for some of the smaller battles [among them Williamsburg in A Pitiless Rain (1997) and The Battle of Hanover Court House (2006)] and even mere skirmishes [with The 4th Michigan Infantry At The Battle Of New Bridge, Virginia (2007)], but studies of the major battles have largely escaped the interests and attention of talented military historians [some attempts have been ghastly failures, but Douglas Crenshaw's slim study of Glendale is an exception]. Part of the Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders series from H.E. Howard, Newton's The Battle of Seven Pines (1993) is not a model study of a Civil War battle by any means, but I wanted to include a standalone account of the fighting at Fair Oaks and Seven Pines and it's the best available.

3. Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles by Brian K. Burton (2001).

Blowing away all previous attempts, Burton's book is not only the finest overall account of the crucial Seven Days 'campaign within a campaign,' but it also contains the literature's richest treatments for each battle fought during the week-long series of events, from Oak Grove through Malvern Hill.

4. The Richmond Campaign of 1862: The Peninsula and the Seven Days edited by Gary W. Gallagher (2000).

Part of the classic Military Campaigns of the Civil War series, this collection of nine essays largely focuses on battles and leaders, with two chapters also exploring the campaign as a key moment in the advent of hard war and the destruction of slavery.

5. The Peninsula Campaign Of 1862: Yorktown To The Seven Days edited by William J. Miller [Volume 1 (1995), Volume 2 (1996), Volume 3 (1997)]

Another collection of scholarly essays, this book trilogy is even more closely devoted to military affairs. Under that umbrella, topical range is rather diverse, to include unit studies, battle accounts, high command commentary, leadership analyses, and diary/journal extracts to go along with examinations of logistics, medical services, and weather.

Five books on the Battle of Chancellorsville

On the anniversary of Stonewall Jackson's famous flanking attack on May 2, 1863, let's look at five books on the campaign and battle of Chancellorsville.

1. The Campaign of Chancellorsville: A Strategic and Tactical Study (With Maps and Plans) by John Bigelow, Jr. (1910).

Published by Yale University Press in 1910, Bigelow's book is an enduring classic that's cast a long shadow over modern Civil War campaign history writing.  I haven't had the pleasure of seeing a copy with the fold-out maps in person, or even the well-regarded Morningside facsimile reprint of the original. Easton Press published a version, too, but I don't know how it handled the maps. Back in the 90s, I read that lame copy from a budget reprint series that was in all the bookstores at the time.

2. The Battle of Chancellorsville: The Attack of Stonewall Jackson and His Army Upon the Right Flank of the Army of the Potomac at Chancellorsville, Virginia, on Saturday Afternoon, May 2, 1863 by Augustus C. Hamlin (1896).

This is another classic. My familiarity with it is from the gray hardcover published by Sgt. Kirkland's in 1997, with a shortened title [The Attack of Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville] and a lengthy introduction by Frank O'Reilly.

3. Chancellorsville by Stephen Sears (1996).

Bigelow must have intimidated a lot of prospective authors later in the century, because Chancellorsville languished behind other major Civil War military campaigns when it came to modern studies until both Ernest Furgurson and Sears gave it a go during the 1990s boom. If you prefer more recent fare, both are worth reading.

4. Chancellorsville's Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church, May 3, 1863 Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White (2013).

This is a wonderful microhistory of the "eastern front" of the Chancellorsville battle, from the Union victory at Second Fredericksburg through the successful Confederate blocking action at Salem Church and ultimate bottling up of Sedgwick's powerful wing of the Army of the Potomac.

5. Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac's "Valley Forge" and the Civil War Winter that Saved the Union by Albert Z. Conner, Jr. with Chris Mackowski (2016).

Technically pre-Chancellorsville, this insightful study is nevertheless essential to understanding the true magnitude of Hooker's transformation of a demoralized Army of the Potomac into the magnificent instrument of war that had no business losing at Chancellorsville.

Five books on the Burnside Expedition

1. "A Succession of Honorable Victories": The Burnside Expedition in North Carolina
by Richard A. Sauers (1996).

If you're going to read one book on the Burnside Expedition, this one is it. It details  from inception through the end of the first half of 1862 the entire Union operation that seized much of tidewater North Carolina. Its centerpiece is the literature's finest account of the March 14, 1862 Battle of New Bern. Regrettably, the book is long out of print and commands a pretty hefty price on the secondary market. Its quality also makes you wish Sauers authored more military history titles.

2. The Old North State at War: The North Carolina Civil War Atlas
by Mark A. Moore, with Michael Hill and Jessica A. Bandel (2015) [review].

The highest quality maps (by far) created for the Burnside Expedition reside in this atlas, along with a solid supporting narrative.

3. The Battle of Roanoke Island: Burnside and the Fight for North Carolina
by Michael P. Zatarga (2015) [review].

For the campaign to be a success, Confederate-held Roanoke Island needed to be captured and the supporting Confederate "Mosquito Fleet" neutralized. Zatarga's coverage of the February 7-8, 1862 period that encompassed the Union landings on the island and the battle that secured its surrender is arguably the best available.

4. The Siege of Fort Macon by Paul Branch (rev. 2002).

Beginning in the 1980s, Branch's account of the Union capture of Ft. Macon has been revised and expanded, and in the process was transformed from pamphlet to full-length book. I believe the latest iteration is the 2002 revised edition (10th printing). Well-stocked with maps and other illustrations, it recounts in great detail the story of the month-long reduction of Fort Macon during March-April 1862.

5. Richard Gatlin and the Confederate Defense of Eastern North Carolina
by James L. Gaddis, Jr. (2015) [review].

Though the study is largely biographical in nature, those seeking further insights into the failures of Confederate command, resource allocation, and defense arrangements for eastern North Carolina during 1861-62 will find Gaddis's slim history useful reading.

Five books on the United States Colored Troops Civil War experience

1. Freedom by the Sword: The U.S. Colored Troops, 1862-1867 by William A. Dobak (2011).

Cornish's The Sable Arm (1956) is a pathbreaking classic and Trudeau's Like Men of War (1998) might be most widely recognized, but Dobak's comprehensive book is arguably the best military history of the USCT contributions to the Union war effort. It ably discusses federal emancipation and recruitment policy, with the bulk of the study covering USCT organization and operations in all theaters while also extending its military treatment into Reconstruction.

2. Milliken's Bend: A Civil War Battle in History and Memory by Linda Barnickel (2013).

Surrendering black troops could often expect a grim variety of responses from their Confederate foes, from POW status (sometimes accompanied by hard labor) to reenslavement to execution. Fort Pillow is, of course, the most notorious large-scale killing of USCT soldiers taken in the act of surrendering, but like events of differing scales occurred on other fields, and Barnickel's study of Milliken's Bend ranks among the best examinations of those battles in which black troops figured most prominently.

3. Soldiers in the Army of Freedom: The 1st Kansas Colored, the Civil War's First African American Combat Unit by Ian Michael Spurgeon (2014).

The next three recommendations cover unit studies of USCT regiments that fought in those Civil War fronts where black military contributions were most significant. The 1st Kansas (later 79th USCT) was the first black regiment to see combat (at Island Mound in Missouri) and fought in the Trans-Mississippi borderlands for the rest of the war, along the way suffering tremendous losses at Poison Spring in 1864.

4. Firebrand of Liberty: The Story of Two Black Regiments That Changed the Course of the Civil War by Stephen V. Ash (2008).

Ash's book is a fine primer on the Sea Island experience, the Port Royal Experiment, the freedmen soldier partnership with eastern abolitionists, and lesser-known USCT operations conducted along the South Atlantic coastline.

5. The 36th Infantry United States Colored Troops in the Civil War: A History and Roster by James K. Bryant II (2012).

The 36th was a late-1863 USCT unit redesignation of the 2nd North Carolina Colored Infantry. The regiment participated in numerous raids in Virginia and North Carolina, and was one of the USCT regiments that figured most prominently at the Battle of New Market Heights (Richmond-Petersburg Campaign) in late September 1864. Bryant spent much of his academic training and career studying this unit, and it shows in the depth and quality of the history and roster.