Jeffry Wert’s Top Civil War Books

By Jeffry D. Wert · Originally published November 2018 · p. 31

Jeffry D. Wert Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander. Edited by Gary W. Gallagher. Notes, index, 664 pp., 1989. University of North Carolina Press, www.uncpress. org, $30, cloth. This book falls outside of the recommended time frame, but I believe it is the most important work published on the Army of Northern Virginia in the past quarter century or more. It is Alexander’s entire original manuscript, a much fuller account than his 1907 published memoirs. Alexander served in the army from First Manassas to Appomattox. He was a perceptive observer, with a keen intellect. The details and his judgments make it the finest work of any member of Lee’s army. It stands alone and continues to edify a reader. Taken at the Flood: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign of 1862. By Joseph L. Harsh. Notes, bibliography, index, 640 pp., 1999. Kent State University Press, www.ksupress.org. The late Dr. Joseph L. Harsh’s study primarily of Confederate operations during the Antietam Campaign is a profoundly important book. It is not a detailed account of the engagements during the campaign, but an erudite reexamination of Lee’s generalship during September 1862. The book is marked by solid research and learned judgments. It remains after two decades a fresh, even provocative, work that challenges conventional thought and, in my judgment, ranks as the finest work to date on Lee and his army in Maryland. On to Petersburg: Grant and Lee June 4-15, 1864. By Gordon C. Rhea. Maps, notes, bibliography, index, 453 pp., 2017. Louisiana State University Press, www.lsupress.org. $45, cloth. On to Petersburg marks the final book in author Gordon C. Rhea’s five-volume study of the Overland Campaign in the spring of 1864. Previous volumes covered the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, and Cold Harbor. Each book stands alone in its descriptions of the engagements but combined, the five volumes rank, fairly in my view, as the finest study of a Civil War campaign in print. This final work furthers the author’s deep research, fine writing, and reasoned arguments. A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary at the Confederate States Capital. Edited by James I. Robertson Jr. Two volumes. Notes, index, 1,056 pp., 2015. University Press of Kansas, www.kansaspress. ku.edu. $90, cloth. John B. Jones’s wartime diary of life in Richmond, Virginia, first appeared in 1866. Since then it has been republished three more times. This latest edition is undoubtedly the finest of them all. Dr. James I. Robertson Jr.’s extensive notes and an index significantly enhance this classic work on life in the Confederate capital and within its government. It is one of those cornerstone books for researchers on the civilian life, political machinations, and military operations as witnessed by a clerk in the War Department. Challenges of Command in the Civil War: Generalship, Leadership, and Strategy at Gettysburg, Petersburg, and Beyond. By Richard J. Sommers. Maps, notes, bibliography, index, 268 pp., 2018. Savas Beatie, www.savasbeatie.com, $29.95, cloth. As the book’s subtitle indicates, this work is a series of essays on various subjects, from Grant and Lee, to Union corps commanders, and to leadership at Gettysburg and Petersburg. The book’s importance lies with the author, Dr. Richard J. Sommers. In a certain way, it is a culmination of decades of study by Dr. Sommers, one of the profession’s most reflective and trenchant scholars. His recent work offers much to be contemplated, if not re-examined. Gettysburg: The Second Day. By Harry W. Pfanz. Maps, notes, illustrations, bibliography, index, 601 pp., 1987. University of North Carolina Press, www.uncpress.org. This book also falls outside the recommended time frame, but its significance cannot be overlooked for its impact on future studies. It was a breakthrough work in its detail on the most written about battle in American history. All historians, including myself, who have authored books on aspects of Gettysburg must take into account Dr. Pfanz’s singular work. This book and his other two volumes on the first day and Cemetery and Culp’s hills should be rightly regarded as the standard works on the much-studied three-day engagement. Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson. By S. C. Gwynne. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, 672 pp., 2014. Scribner, www.simonandschuster.com. $30, cloth. S.C. Gwynne captures the enigmatic man who was Stonewall Jackson better than any previous biographer. Although Gwynne’s book lacks the detail of Dr. James I. Robertson Jr.’s fine study, this work is a compelling read from a gifted writer. It is one of my favorite biographies published in the last two decades. George Henry Thomas: As True As Steel. By Brian Steel

Wills, maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, 585 pp., 2012. University Press of Kansas, www.kansaspress.ku.edu. Ulysses S. Grant, William T. Sherman, and George H. Thomas were the most successful Union generals. History, however, has relegated Thomas into its shadows. Dr. Brian Wills’s excellent biography restores Thomas to his rightful place among Union commanders. It is a book that presents the conflict in the West from a perspective other than Grant’s. It is biography at its best and very rewarding to a reader. Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee—The War They Fought, The Peace They Waged. By William C. Davis. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index, 629 pp., 2014. DaCapo Press, www.dacapopress.com. $32.50 cloth. Dual biographies present unique difficulties for an historian, especially when the pair dominates the military history of the Civil War. Veteran historian William C. Davis has handled it deftly with telling details, trenchant observations, and fine writing. Both men emerge in these pages in frank, if not revisionist, portraits. This book offers much on both Grant and Lee. Lee’s Colonels: A Biographical Register of the Field Officers of the Army of Northern Virginia. 5th Edition, Revised. By Robert K. Krick. Illustrations, appendix, 551 pp., 2009 Broadfoot Publishing Company, www. broadfootpublishing.com. Robert K. Krick has written extensively on the war in the East, focusing primarily on the command of Stonewall Jackson. This book, however, is not a narrative history but a treasure trove of vital information on Robert E. Lee’s field officers. It reflects Krick’s unsurpassed knowledge of that army’s rank and file and is a work no historian can overlook when writing about them and their campaigns. It is a constant companion. Jeffry D. Wert has been a Civil War buff since the age of ten, way back in the 1950s. His fifth and sixth grade teacher knew Civil War veterans from his small central Pennsylvania area and related their stories. He was hooked and has been ever since.