Craig Barry’s Top Ten Civil War Books

Originally published November 2020 · p. 28

Craig Barry’s Top Ten Civil War Books 1. The Rifled Musket by Claud E. Fuller. Stackpole, 1959. Claud E. Fuller had a great collection of U.S. military long arms which is currently housed at CHCH National Military Park, but he concentrated on the Civil War-era U.S. 1861. The book contains original correspondence and excellent detail on the twenty or so contractors who produced the U.S. 1861 during the Civil War. 2. The Bloody Crucible of Courage by Brent Nosworthy. Carroll & Graf, 2003. Excellent one volume book on the evolution of battlefield tactics during the Civil War and the impact of newly emerging weapons like the rifle-musket. I have re-read this several times over the years and I always pick up some new insights. 3. Civil War Firearms by Joseph Bilby. Combined Publishing, 1996. This book is essentially an extension of the material that Joe has written over the years for his column in Civil War News “Black Powder White Smoke.” There are separate chapters on all the major Civil War firearms with emphasis on their actual use. I have referred to this book many times over the years both in conversation and in my Civil War News column “The Unfinished Fight.” 4. Entrepot: Government imports into the Confederate

States by C. Lon Webster. Edinborough Press, 2010. How was the South able to prosecute the war against an industrial giant and stay in the fight for as long as they did? Entrepot is well written and researched, this is an area of special interest to me, being that it deals with the subject of four books that I authored or co-authored. Who had what? Why and where? The answers are all here. Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson. Oxford University Press, 1988. Probably the finest one volume narrative history of the Civil War. It won a Pulitzer Prize. It has objectively been described as “charitable to both sides.” Because it is so easy to read and follow, I carry a copy in my car for use when I am trapped in doctor’s office waiting rooms. Company Aytch by Sam Watkins. Providence House Publishing, 2007. This is revised and expanded version edited by Ruth McAllister, a surviving relative of Sam Watkins using his handwritten notes. I love firsthand accounts of everyday life during the Civil War and Company Aytch has stood the test of time. I cite passages from it so often in my column “The Unfinished Fight” I am surprised the publisher hasn’t complained. Grant by Ron Chernow. Penguin Books, 2018. A revisionist 1,074 pages dedicated to one of the most misunderstood and fascinating characters in Civil War history. “When did Grant ever turn back? He was not that sort; he could no more turn back than time!” – Walt Whitman, (quoted in Ron Chernow’s Grant). Well worth the time investment to read. This is the only biography on my top ten list and it probably made the list because Grant smoked even more cigars than me. Firearms of the Confederacy, by Claud E. Fuller and Richard D Steuart, 1944. Early work by Claud E. Fuller that benefited from access to the extensive collection of Richard Steuart. Excellent baseline research on C.S. firearms. Great diagrams. Extensively annotated with footnotes. Everything that would later make The Rifled Musket so great is right here. 9. The Civil War, 3 vols., by Shelby Foote. Random House, 1958. Another excellent narrative history of the U.S. Civil War. I first saw a fellow passenger reading it on an airplane when I was a college student and I bought all three volumes, a hefty investment at the time. It was years later before I finally finished reading it through, but I have since re-read it several times. The level of detail is incredible. Ken Burns interviewed the author though out his PBS documentary on the Civil War, so he obviously thought so, too. 10. An Introduction to Civil War Small Arms by Earl J. Coates and Dean Thomas. Thomas Publications, 1990. The tables showing which units were issued various small arms during the Civil War is worth the cost alone for the arguments it settles. One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was when my first book, The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy (2006) was compared to and recommended as a companion piece to Coates and Thomas Civil War Small Arms. Craig L. Barry was born in Charlottesville, Va. He holds his BA and Masters degrees from the University of North Carolina (Charlotte). Craig served The Watchdog Civil War Quarterly as Associate Editor and Editor from 2003–2017. The Watchdog published books and columns on 19th-century material and donated all funds from publications to battlefield preservation. He is the author of several books including The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy (2006, 2011), The Unfinished Fight: Essays on Confederate Material Culture Vol. I and II (2012, 2013) and four books in the Suppliers to the Confederacy series on English Arms & Accoutrements, Quartermaster stores and other European imports.