Our Contributors – Books on Their Cart

Originally published November 2019 · pp. 30–32

Michael K. Shaffer Some time back, I purchased Steve Davis’s recent work, 100 Significant Civil War Photographs – Atlanta Campaign. While talking with Steve, I mentioned this title now occupied a space ‘on my cart;’ a rolling-cart, which I keep beside my desk for ready access to frequently consulted works. Editor Jack Melton jumped on this idea and asked several columnists for CWN to submit a ‘Top 10’ listing of books on their own carts. Initially, the task seemed simple enough until I sat staring at the 95 books filling the shelves of my cart! Where to start? Not a simple decision, but after much thought, I managed to select my top 10 list, which appears below in the order I most frequently consult these resources. Eicher, John H, and David J Eicher. Civil War High Commands. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2001. Seldom does a day pass without my reaching for this helpful resource. As readers of CWN certainly know, various officers rose through the ranks during the American Civil War. Perhaps one served as a colonel at First Manassas/Bull Run, but later achieved the rank of a military general. In my writing, I use great caution to ensure references to officers contain the appropriate position for the time under study. The work of Eicher and Eicher provides a one-stop source for this information. Irvine, Dallas. Military Operations of The Civil War: A Guide-Index to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 1861–1865. 9 vols. Washington, District of Columbia: National Archives & Records Administration, 1968–1980. Irvine’s work simplifies the task of locating information found within the 128-volume The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

Our Contributors – Books on Their Cart This idea spawned from CWN columnist Michael Shaffer, who wrote that Stephen Davis’ new book on the Atlanta Campaign was one that he would keep on his cart by his desk. I asked our CWN contributors to send in their lists of “books on their cart.” Here are their replies. – Jack W. Melton Jr., Publisher

Researchers can identify information from all three theaters of the war, and the nine volumes vary in content, from place names to chronological activity for each state. References to the O.R. Atlas included! Davis, George B, Leslie J Perry, Joseph W Kirkley, and Calvin D Cowles. The Official Military Atlas of The Civil War. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2003. When studying a battle or campaign, maps prove a necessity, and the Atlas accompanying the Official Records serves as a great source to better understand the action on the field. Faust, Patricia L. Historical Times Illustrated Encyclopedia of The Civil War. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. A ready reference to locate bios of various individuals or find definitions of terms. Boatner, Mark Mayo. The Civil War Dictionary. New York: Vintage Civil War Library, 1991. An excellent companion to Faust’s work! Owens, Richard A. An Index to The Illustrations of Harper’s Weekly During the Civil War Years: 1861–1865. Fairfax, VA: Richard A. Owens, 2000. Harper’s Weekly, one of the few illustrated newspapers published during the year, can prove somewhat tricky to navigate when attempting to locate a specific illustration. This index really facilitates the search! Quigley, Robert D. Civil War Spoken Here. Collingswood, N.J.: C.W. Historicals, 1993. Unsure of the proper pronunciation of a word, this source can help! When studying the military career of, for example, Brigadier General Arthur Manigault, Quigley reminds readers of the pronunciation (MAN-i-GOH). P.S. I verified Manigault’s rank courtesy of the Eichers. Long, Everette B, Bruce Catton, and Barbara Long. The Civil War Day by Day. New York, NY: Da Capo Press, 1985. Understanding how events transpired during the war, not in a vacuum, but amid activities occurring throughout the nation, remains essential when researching the war. Long’s resource offers an excellent guide to help one accomplish this goal. Castel, Albert E. Decision in

The West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1995. Living in Georgia as I do, and frequently teaching, writing about, or lecturing on the Atlanta Campaign, Castel’s seminal work remains a trusted reference. Candler, Allen Daniel. The Confederate Records of The State of Georgia. 3 vols. Atlanta: C.P. Byrd, State Printer, 1909. I frequently conduct research on many wartime activities here in Georgia, and this set serves an excellent source on events leading to secession, the papers of Governor Joe Brown, along with the governor’s correspondence.

Stephanie Hagiwara Here are just some of the books I am reading. Some I have used as sources for my columns and I intend to enjoy the entire book. Davis, Stephen. 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Atlanta Campaign: Historical Publications, 2019. I am getting a kick out of Davis’s comments on the pictures. I will be relating the story Ulysses S. Grant wrote about pre-war Braxton Bragg for years to come. Roberts, Cokie. Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848– 1868: Harper; Reprint edition, April 14, 2015. Washington’s population exploded during the War. This is a captivating look at the War’s impact on its highly connected women residents. DeRose, Chris. The Presidents’ War: Six American Presidents and the Civil War That Divided Them: Lyons Press, June 6, 2014 Five of his predecessors were alive when Lincoln was sworn in as President. Dealing with the previous Presidents and their various degrees of support or lack of, was part of Lincoln’s juggling act. Hessler, James A., Sickles at Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg: Savas Beatie, June 25, 2009. Well researched book on a guy who behaves like a fictional character in a nighttime soap opera.

Dickey, Christopher. Our Man in Charleston: Britain’s Secret Agent in the Civil War South: Broadway Books, Reprint edition July 26, 2016. British consul Robert Bunch’s balancing act between the British need for cotton for its textile mills and ending slavery around the world. Guelzo, Allen C. Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction: Oxford University Press, 2012. Before he died, my father took up shopping. In acknowledgment of my interest in the Civil War, he purchased this book for me. I keep telling tales from it. Gottfried, Bradley M. Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg: Skyhorse Publishing; January 12, 2012. My go to book on what the men with their feet on the ground were thinking during this Battle. Goodhart, Adam. 1861: The Civil War Awakening: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011 Illuminating read on the early days of the War.

Harold Holzer James M. Banner, Jr., ed. Presidential Misconduct: From George Washington to Today, New York: New Press, 2019. Sidney Blumenthal, The Political Life of Abraham Lincoln (Vol. 3): All the Powers of Earth, 1856–1860, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2019. Brian Dirck. The Black Heavens: Abraham Lincoln and Death, Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2019. Eric Foner, The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution, New York: W. W. Norton, 2019. Anna Gibson Holloway and Jonathan W. White, “Our Little Monitor”: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War, Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2018. W. Caleb McDaniel, Sweet Taste of Liberty: The True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America, New York: Oxford University Press, 2019. John Marszalek, ed. The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses

S. Grant, annotated edition, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2017. Donald R. Miller, Vicksburg: Grant’s Campaign that Broke the Confederacy, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2019 (reading this in galleys). Neely, Mark E., Jr. The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982 (always on my desk). Temple, Wayne C., ed. by Douglas L. Wilson, Lincoln’s Confidant: The Life of Noah Brooks, Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2019.

Salvatore Cilella Books on my “to be read” table. In the Garden of Beasts. Eric Larson. New York: Crown, 2011. In 1933 Berlin, American ambassador to Germany, William E. Dodd took his position at a critical time in world history. He and his daughter quickly fit into the social scene and just as quickly learned of Hitler’s and the Nazi’s evil intentions as the intensity of German life becomes unbearable. Good compelling read by Larson who has done other historical, real life narratives beginning with the Devil in the White City, 2003. The Library Book. Susan Orlean. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018. On the morning of April 29, 1986, a fire alarm sounded in the Los Angeles Public Library. The fire was disastrous: it reached 2,000 degrees and burned for more than seven hours. By the time it was extinguished, it had consumed four hundred thousand books and damaged seven hundred thousand more. Investigators descended on the scene, but more than thirty years later, the mystery remains: Did someone purposefully set fire to the library—and if so, who? Love a good mystery and who doesn’t love a library if you are a reader? Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination. Annette Gordon-Reed, Peter S. Onuf. New York: Liveright Publishing, 2016. The authors present a character study that dispels the many clichés about Jefferson. They challenge the widely held belief that Jefferson remains so opaque as to be unknowable. Through their careful analysis, painstaking research, and vivid prose they create a portrait of Jefferson, as he might have painted himself, one “comprised of equal parts sun and shadow” (Jane Kamensky). I read Gordon-Reeds prize winning The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family, and thought I would tackle her latest effort. Infamous Scribblers: The Founding Fathers and the Rowdy Beginnings of American Journalism. Eric Burns. New York: Public Affairs, 2006. The author shows that American journalists and politicians have never gotten along but all agree on needing a free and open press for democracy to work. The title comes from George Washington who wrote that he was “buffeted in the public prints by a set of infamous scribblers.” Nothing new under the sun. Sound familiar? Fake News? The Swerve: How the World Became Modern. Stephen Greenblatt. New York: W. W. Norton Co., 2012. Details the discovery of a manuscript 600 years ago entitled On the Nature of Things. Written by Roman philosopher, Lucretius, it contained heretical ideas such as that the world functioned very well without gods. The manuscript fueled the renaissance and ultimately informed and influenced Thomas Jefferson. Published in 2012, still important to understanding our current world. The Field of Blood: Violence in Congress and the Road to Civil War. Joanne B. Freeman. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2018. Freeman details the story of physical violence on the floor of the U.S. Congress. Drawing on a wide range of sources, she shows that the Capitol was rife with conflict in the decades before the Civil War. Another important read of events leading up to the Civil War. Heirs of the Founders. H. W. Brands. New York: Doubleday, 2018. As the Founding Fathers retired, three new personalities in the U. S. Senate began making their mark on American History. Brands details the relations of Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, Henry Clay of Kentucky, and John C. Calhoun from South Carolina. He recounts their duels, fierce debates, scandals, and political betrayal. For nearly four decades they struggled with the incompatibility of republicanism and slavery and the location of power and authority in the states or the nation. Sounds like a great read leading up to the Compromise of 1850. Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom. David Blight. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018. Blight’s new biography of Douglass. Will usually read anything by David Blight. Winner of the Pulitzer in History, plus every award known to mankind. The Problem of Democracy: The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality. Nancy Isenberg and Andrew Burstein. New York: Viking, 2019. The title says it all. The Adams’ believed that political participation required moral courage. This piqued my interest given modern day events. Does this all sound familiar? Is history a recurring cycle? Or a straight line. The Oxford Inheritance: A Novel. Ann A. McDonald. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2016. Good solid, British mystery featuring suspense, money, black magic, murder, intrigue, secrets—it has it all. Every stack of books should have at least one novel to balance the non-fiction of history. I especially enjoy British mysteries. Looking forward to this one. Just finishing up Anthony Horowitz’ The House of Silk. Page turner!

Chris Mackowski On my book cart, really a shelf on my desk, I keep working copies of the O.R.s for Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, and the Overland Campaign. I have the American Heritage dictionary given to me by my high school English teacher (although I more often use an online dictionary) as well as the New American Bible, Saint Joseph Medium Size Edition, that I got as a seventh-grader in Catholic school. Finally, I keep a full set of the Emerging Civil War Series close at hand for reference purposes. Aside from those “standards,” here’s what else I keep on my cart: Ulysses S. Grant, The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant/ Selected Letters 1839–1865, Library of America, 1990. There are two recent annotated editions of Grant’s memoirs, each of which has its charms and both of which deserve a look for anyone interested in knowing more about Grant. But this is the edition I first bought, and I’m sticking with the girl I brought to the dance. I write about Grant a lot, and even when I’m not, I often like to see what he had to say on a particular topic. He writes a great narrative, but sprinkled throughout are great observations and insights, all captured in clear, forceful prose. Frank O’Reilly, The Fredericksburg Campaign: Winter War Along the Rappahannock, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2003. For the same reasons I frequently refer to Gordon Rhea’s work on the Overland Campaign, I rely on Frank O’Reilly’s work on the Battle of Fredericksburg. Frank is the one who broke open a century and a quarter of misinterpretation about the battle by discovering that Ambrose Burnside and William B. Franklin, the Union commander at the south end of the field responsible for the day’s main attack, worked from different maps. Thus, Burnside’s plan unraveled and went misunderstood by historians. The subsequent purchase of the Slaughter Pen Farm by preservationists helped cement this new understanding of the battle. No one knows the military history of Fredericksburg like Frank! Frank O’Reilly et al., “The Battle of Fredericksburg troop movement maps,” Eastern National, 2001 • “The Battle of Chancellorsville troop movement maps,” Eastern National, 1998 • “The Battle of the Wilderness troop movement maps,” Eastern National, 2003 • “The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House troop movement maps,” Eastern National, 2000 Years ago, Eastern National, the NPS partner that runs so many bookstores, published four series of maps related to the battles in Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. Created by Frank O’Reilly with the assistance of a number of other staff historians, each series shows a regimental level timelapse sequence of where units were positioned during each phase of battle. These are especially useful for finding out exactly where specific troops were at any given time. That is, in turn, •

helpful when a battlefield visitor wants to walk in the footsteps of an ancestor. When I break out the maps and really dive in, I feel like I am in Civil War nerd heaven! While the maps don’t sit on my shelf, they sit right next to it. Gordon Rhea, • The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994. • The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. • To the North Anna River: Grant and Lee, May 1325, 1864, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2000. • Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2002. • On to Petersburg: Grant and Lee, June 4-15, 1864, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2017. A majority of my writing is grounded in the 1864 Overland Campaign. I also do a lot of work for the Central Virginia Battlefields Trust, a preservation group dedicated to protecting the battlefields in the Wilderness and Spotsylvania areas. Finally, the majority of guests who stay at Stevenson Ridge as part of their Civil War adventures request tours of Spotsylvania (Stevenson Ridge is an historic property my wife’s family owns on the Spotsylvania battlefield and where I serve as chief historian). Gordon’s in-depth research provides quick reference for confirming facts and checking sources. Because the turnover among regimental, brigade, and division commanders during the campaign can prove challenging, the orders of battle during the campaign are particularly handy. Chicago Manual of Style (14th ed.), John Grossman, ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. I know this seems like an odd one, but considering all the publication-related projects I work on, having a handy-dandy “ChiMan” is invaluable. I’ve memorized all the style rules for the routine stuff I normally deal with, but esoteric things come up all the time, like, in an index entry, should there be a comma between the entry and the first page number? How do you cite a set of maps? (see above!) While such things are beyond the needs of most Civil War buff‘s, anyone serious about writing should be familiar with standard style conventions. It shows your professionalism as well as your commitment to the craft. With our many writing projects, the ChiMan is the bread and butter of what we do at ECW. I cling to my 14th edition just because it’s page-worn and familiar, but the ChiMan is in its 17th edition now. I’m sure I’ll have to bite the $75 bullet and buy one sooner rather than later.

Joe Bordonaro Frederick C. Wagner III, The Strategy of Defeat at the Little Big Horn, Jefferson, NC, McFarland & Co., 2014. This is one of my two favorite books about the Battle of the Little Big Horn, which I have long had an interest in. The author used time analysis to make what I believe is the most accurate time line of the battle, from which the author made very reasoned deductions. Michael N. Donahue, Where the Rivers Ran Red, Montrose, CA, San Juan Publishing, 2018. This is my other favorite book about the Battle of the Little Big Horn. The author uses the latest research to tell the story of the battle and presents a very balanced look at what happened there. Bradley M. Gottfired, The Maps of Antietam, El Dorado Hills, CA, Savas Beatie LLC. For anyone who has suffered through reading a book that, while otherwise very fine, was sadly lacking in maps, or that had inferior maps, this book is a real treat. Antietam is a difficult battle to follow, especially in any detail, but this book is a tremendous way to follow the action. Benjamin E. Myers, American Citizen, Mechanicsburg, PA, Sunbury Press, 2019. This book tells the story of the captain of the 46th Pennsylvania, George A. Brooks. I’ve never read a book in which the main character was developed as fully as is that of Captain Brooks. The author takes several chapters at the beginning of the book to share letters that Brooks wrote to his future wife which are very revealing and bring him to life. There is plenty of action in the main part of the book, but when you get there you will care about Captain Brooks’ fate. Ezra A. Carman, The Maryland Campaign of Sept. 1862, Vol II: Antietam.

Ezra Carman led the 13th NJ at Antietam, and having reenacted with the 13th NJ, I naturally was interested in reading this book. I was rewarded by finding that Bvt. Brigadier General Carman literally wrote the book about the battle of Antietam, having spent many years after the war writing letters to participants. He also served as the historical expert for the board that created Antietam National Battlefield. Joseph G. Bilby and William C. Goble, “Remember You are Jerseymen!”, Hightstown, NJ, Longstreet House, 1998. Being a Jerseyman, and being interested in the Civil War, I had to get this book. It is the prime source of information on all the units raised in New Jersey during the Civil War. Joseph E. Crowell, The Young Volunteer, Falls Church, VA, NOVA Publications, 1997. Again, my interest in the 13th NJ Volunteer Infantry led me to this book. Joseph Crowell served in the ranks with the 13th NJ through much of the war, and his humorous first person accounts are well worth reading. Bruce Catton, The Army of the Potomac Trilogy, NY, Doubleday & Co., 1951–53. My first book about the Civil War was the American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War, which was also written by Bruce Catton. I still have it, and probably always will, but my love for the book led me to Mr. Catton’s magnificent trilogy, which still holds up as an excellent overview of the war. Other authors have exceeded him in some ways, but his command of the language, as brought to bear in his writings, will probably never be matched. R.S. Rosenquist, Martin J. Sexton, Robert Buerlein, Our Kind of War, Richmond, VA, Hailer Publishing, 2009. My father served with the Marine Raiders during WWII and I inherited this book about the outfit after he passed away. It is a great look at a real “Gung Ho” fighting outfit. Wilbur F. Hinman, Corporal Si Klegg and His Pard, Ashburn, VA, J.W. Henry Publishing, 1997. A very humorous book that has the ring of truth throughout. Mr. Hinman takes us from enlistment to discharge with every way station in between. A classic.

Wayne Wolf John R. Scales, The Battles and Campaigns of Nathan Bedford Forrest. 1861–1865. Savas-Beatie, 2017. This well researched text not only chronicles Forrest’s exploits but illuminates the maneuvers in the Western Theatre that are often neglected. Gary W. Gallagher and Elizabeth Varon (eds). New Perspectives on the Union War. Fordham University Press, 2019, 260 pp. A wonderful collection of essays that reevaluate the causes of the Civil War, its ramifications, and the legacy that we endure today. Walter Brian Cisco. War Crimes Against Southern Civilians. Pelican Publishing Co., 2016. This book portrays the extent to which the Civil War was waged with brutality, persecution, terror, destruction and murder against a civilian population, both white and black. Robert Icenhauer-Ramirez, Treason on Trial, The United States v. Jefferson Davis. Louisiana State University Press, 2019. A thoroughly researched account, from a lawyer’s perspective, for the legal maneuvering that kept Jefferson Davis from being brought to trial. Each character is exposed for his personal loyalties, political ambitions, and legal competence. University Press of Kentucky, 2019, 244 pp. A succinct account of how two adversaries grew into friends while conducting foreign policy with an eye toward public opinion at home. Joseph A. Fry. Lincoln, Seward, and U.S. Foreign Relations in the Civil War. University Press of Kentucky, 2019. A succinct account of how two adversaries grew into friends while conducting foreign policy with an eye to the public opinion at home. Janet Elizabeth Coon (ed.) The War Outside My Window: The

Civil War Diary of Leroy Wiley Gresham, 1861–1865. SavasBeatie, 2018. A day-to-day account of a crippled boy’s view of the war from his perspective in Macon, Georgia, complete with rumors, societal changes, lost neighbors, and the collapse of the world as he knew it. Steve Davis. 100 Significant Civil War Photographs: Atlanta Campaign. Historical Publications LLC. Charleston, 2019. Invaluable photographs by George Barnard, who was hired by Gen. Sherman’s Chief Engineer Orlando Poe to photograph the fortifications around Atlanta. These incredible views allow the reader to see Atlanta as Sherman saw it in 1864. Jack W. Melton, Jr. Civil War Artillery Projectiles – The Half-Shell Book. Historical Publications LLC, Charleston, 2018. The bible for understanding artillery in the Civil War, from its manufacture to its use, design, and effectiveness. Alan Levine, Thomas W. Merrill and James P. Stone Jr. The Political Thought of the Civil War (eds.) This series of essays explores why the Civil War still speaks to us. Many of the forces that led to war—slavery, race, moralism, and constitutional interpretation in a multicultural society are examined. Edward H. Bonekemper III. The Myth of the Lost Cause. Regnery Historical Publications.

2015. As soon as the Civil War ended Southern writers concocted a new narrative that would shape our understanding of the war for a century. Bonekemper challenges this Southern interpretation.

Joan Wenner Christian B. Keller, The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy, Pegasus Books, New York, 2019. The author is a U.S. Army War College professor in the Department of National Security and Strategy. He examines the joint strategic decision-making and value of personal relationships “among senior leaders for organizational survival,” amid the complicated and “complex historical context that served as the backdrop for their partnership and that so strongly influenced how and when they thought and acted;” and of course Lee wore many hats including advisor to Jefferson Davis. Marianne Monson, Women of the Blue & Gray: True Civil War Stories of Mothers, Medics, Soldiers and Spies, Shadow Mountain Publishers, Salt Lake City, 2018. This is a follow-up book to this author’s “Frontier Grit,” and includes well known individuals, but also some less recognized figures which makes for added interest in examining these unlikely ‘heroes’ during wartime; some of incredible daring. Photographs add to these mini-biographies.