BOOK OF THE YEAR
It is universally recognized that gaining a deep understanding of Civil War battles requires walking the ground in person, but what about looking underneath the surface? As objective means of both confirming and challenging the written historical record, conflict archaeology and material culture study are proven methods at this point. Raising (and perhaps even resolving) significant questions on their own that have never been asked before is another facet of battlefield archaeology's profound utility. All of the above shines through William Lees's decades-long investigation of the Honey Springs battle and battlefield. That Honey Springs was arguably the most critical, yet still understudied, battle fought in Indian Territory during the Civil War adds even more value to Lees's groundbreaking work.
Runner-Up
2. Green and Blue: Irish Americans in the Union Military, 1861–1865 by Damian Shiels (LSU).
Based on the author's unprecedented examination of newly digitized widow's pension files held at the national archives, Green and Blue immerses readers in the most comprehensive profile and analysis of Irish Civil War volunteers to date. This is a model ethnic study that cannot be recommended highly enough.
The Rest of the Year's TOP TEN (in no particular order)
3. The Atlanta Campaign - Volume 2: From the Etowah River to Kennesaw Mountain, May 20 to June 27, 1864 by David A. Powell (Savas Beatie). At this point, I might as well reserve a spot on the list for each of Powell's Atlanta Campaign volumes! 4. The Devil’s Own Purgatory: The United States Mississippi River Squadron in the Civil War by Robert Gudmestad (LSU). Books exploring Mississippi River Squadron vessels, leaders, and campaigns fairly abound, but Gudmestad's study is the first deep dive into the men who manned the celebrated Brown Water Navy. The volume's unique quantitative approach and analysis extends to other essential aspects of the navy's part in the western war, too. 5. Civil War Cavalry: Waging Mounted Warfare in Nineteenth-Century America by Earl J. Hess (LSU). With this one, Hess has now produced fresh, wide-ranging, and insightful book-length examinations of all three major service branches of the Union and Confederate armies. 6. Reckless in their Statements: Challenging History's Harshest Criticisms of Albert Sidney Johnston in the Civil War by Leigh S. Goggin (Fontaine). As one might expect given the breadth of his study's approach to the topic, Goggin's conclusions vary in strength, but his spirited, thoughtful, and evidence-based defense of Sidney Johnston's tenure in the West is full of compelling arguments that are forces to be reckoned with. 7. The Weather Gods Curse the Gettysburg Campaign by John M. Nese & Jeffrey J. Harding (The History Press). In their investigation of weather's role in Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North, Nese and Harding more than meet the challenge of coming up with an original angle that advances our knowledge and appreciation of what remains by far the Civil War's most scrutinized campaign. 8. The Pathfinder and the President: John C. Frémont, Abraham Lincoln, and the Battle for Emancipation by John Bicknell (Stackpole). In my opinion, this is the literature's best examination of the fraught wartime relationship that developed between Fremont and Lincoln, specifically the contrasting paths each leader adopted on the road toward military emancipation. 9. From Dakota to Dixie: George Buswell's Civil War edited by Jonathan W. White & Reagan Connelly (UVA Press). If you are craving an expertly edited Civil War soldier diary written from a highly unusual field service arc and perspective, this is the book for you! 10. More Important Than Good Generals: Junior Officers in the Army of the Tennessee by Jonathan Engel (KSU Press). No Civil War army could operate efficiently without quality company and regimental officers fulfilling the leadership and administrative gap between the generals at the top and the common soldiers at the bottom. Engel's examination of the motivations, duties, attitudes, and essential traits of these individuals is unique in its insights and full of promise in how it might be applied to other Civil War armies.
