The American Civil War, along with the Napoleonic Wars and WW2, is a contender for Most-Written War. Considering that it was much shorter than the Napoleonic period, and fought in only part of one continent by two halves of a not-over-populous country, we think that the War Between the States wins. Naturally, this bibliography is not exhaustive, does not dent the surface, indeed is hardly a fingerprint on the surface.
If you wish to write about specific battles in detail, in homage to Killer Angels, you are cordially invited to become a Civil War historian. If you want details of everyday life for non-battle stories, you will find a good guide below. Note how many period sources are available in reprint, especially for the re-enactor. This is a period when newspapers and magazines of the period can give you a lot of background detail, like how people of education spoke, and how dialect sounded to them. These periodicals can always be obtained on microfilm.
We begin this period in the long tense decade during which the war nearly broke out several times.
Anonymous
The Ladies' Self Instructor **** 1853 Patterns and instructions for all sorts of dressmaking and millinery, not to mention knitting, netting, and crochet. T3
Art-Journal
The Crystal Palace Exhibition Illustrated Catalogue **** 1851; now from Dover Publications, Inc., NY; 426 pg, 1700 illos More on Victorian Design than the Exhibition or the Crystal Palace itself. T3
Ball, Edward
Barnard, George N.
Photographic Views of Sherman's Campaign **** 1866; now from Dover; 80 pg 61 plates of the various battlefields. T3
Blum, Stella, editor
Fashions and Costumes From Godey's Lady's Book, 1837-1869 *****! Dover Publications, Inc., NY; 136 pg, 400 illos If you can get no other costume book for the period, this one will carry you through all women's fashions and accesories from rising to sleeping, many children's garment, and even some views of men. T1 Victorian Fashions and Costumes from Harper's Bazar, 1867-1898 *****! Dover Publications, Inc., NY; 320 pg, over 1000 engravings Fashions and accessories for all occasions. Includes detailed hairdressing! T3
Fashions and Costumes From Godey's Lady's Book, 1837-1869 *****! Dover Publications, Inc., NY; 136 pg, 400 illos If you can get no other costume book for the period, this one will carry you through all women's fashions and accesories from rising to sleeping, many children's garment, and even some views of men. T1
Victorian Fashions and Costumes from Harper's Bazar, 1867-1898 *****! Dover Publications, Inc., NY; 320 pg, over 1000 engravings Fashions and accessories for all occasions. Includes detailed hairdressing! T3
Boucher, Francois
Twenty Thousand Years of Fashion; the History of Costume and Personal Adornment *** Harry N. Abrams, 1966; 440 pg, index, glossary Pretty good in this period. T1
Bray, Peter, editor
Transport Through the Ages ** Taplinger Publishing Co., Inc., NY, 1971; illos by Barbara Brown Covers a bit of everything, from dugout canoes on. Emphasis on later periods. T1
Brett, Gerard
Dinner is Served *** Archon Books, Hamden, CN, 1968 British meals of the day and their conduct; Part Two covers 1660 to 1900. Do remember how much Eastern Society follows Britain. T3
Brockett, Oscar G.
History of the Theatre *** Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1977 Good university-level text on staging conventions, acting forms, audience behavior, etc. T3
Clay, Henry, 1777-1852
Cyst, Henry Martin (1836-1902)
Davis, Richard Harding, 1864-1916
Davis, William C. and Bell I. Wiley, editors
Photographic History of the Civil War *****!vol. I, Fort Sumter to Gettysburg BD&L, 1996; 1,371 pgs vol. 2, Vicksburg to Appomattox BD&L, 1996; 1,366 pgs Killer visual set, text by the gang at Civil War Times Illustrated. Genuine lapbreakers, but worth the injury. T2-3
Duffy, Christopher
Fire and Stone: The Science of Fortress Warfare, 1660-1860 **** Hippocrene Books, NY, 1975 Well-written, well-illustrated and well-designed. The Fortess Wargame for Miniatures is tactical fun while teaching you how things can work or go wrong. The other appendix, on how to tour old fortifications, is good if you get to make the research trip. T3
Gardner, Alexander
Photographic Sketchbook of the Civil War **** 1866; now from Dover Publications, Inc., NY 100 photos, including ones of slave pens. T3
Gernsheim, Alison
Victorian and Edwardian Fashion: A Photographic Survey, 1840-1914 *****! Dover Publications; 240 pg, 235 photos (most two to the page, sideways) The text is wonderfully researched, with period comments on fashion, cosmetics, emigrant kits, dyes and colour combinations -- priceless! Must read, even though very European. T2
Hall, Richard
Patriots in Disguise; Women Warriors of the Civil War *****! Paragon House, NY, 1993; 225 pg, select bibliography, index The size of Appendix A: "Honor Roll for Female Soldiers" will astound you. Mostly disguised as boys and men, the lack of medical tests, the bodily modesty considered natural among men of the time, and the loose military organization allowed them to slip in and out of combat roles, and even identities. Even if you do not write about one, you must consider the possibility that the next soldier down the line, on either side, could be a woman. T1
Harwell, Richard B.
The Confederate Reader **** Dover; 416 pg Good for your first round of reading, to get you well settled in the Confederate mind before digging deeper. May be all the depth you need. T1
Hogg, Ian V.
The History of Fortification *** St. Martin's Press, NY, 1981 Clear, interesting and accurate overview from 7000 BC through the 1970's, well illustrated with photos and diagrams; bibliography and glossary. T2
Holloway, Mark
Heavens on Earth: Utopian Communities in America, 1680-1880 **** Dover Publications, Inc., NY And you thought "cults" were a new thing! Explore the attempts build new Edens, where your characters may get involved, or at least discuss if there's one in the neighborhood. T2
Howe, Octavius T., and Frederick C. Matthews
American Clipper Ships: 1833-1858 **** Dover; 928 pg in 2 vol., 109 halftones, 5 illos See Matthews on later ships. Thorough coverage of 352 American vessels of your period. T3
Ingraham, Holly
People's Names: A Cross-cultural Reference Guide to the Proper Use of Over 40,000 Personal and Familial Names in Over 100 Cultures *****! McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, NC; 1997; 613 pgs, index, select annotated bibliography While there is a specialty chapter on Victorian American names, you will also reference all the Contemporary chapters for family names from all over the world. T1
Kohler, Carl
A History of Costume **** Dover Publications, Inc., NY Hand-sized, info-packed, based on surviving clothes first and artwork secondarily. Author's line drawings of construction and detail. Neophytes should use with a picture book, which it will greatly clarify. T1
Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865)
Lubbock, Basil
The Western Ocean Packets **** Dover; 192 pg These are the ATLANTIC Packets (fast ships) that are the forerunners of the fast ocean liners later in the century. Gives which lines are active when, which ships they added when, and what days they sailed. A good informative book. T3
Lyman, Darryl
Civil War Wordbook: Including Songs, Phrases, and Expletives *****! Combined Books Here's the book of slang and catch-phrases for this period, some of which will be borne into the next period by the young men who started using them during this time. Especially valuable for army slang and those expletives. T2
MacColl, Gail, and Carol McD. Wallace
To Marry an English Lord **** Sidgewick and Jackson, Ltd., London, 1989 Whether the hunting of titles by rich young Yankee women (and some Western heirresses), or the hunting of heiresses by bankrupt (largely British) noblemen, the cross-Atlantic traffic forever changed both Society and possibly world affairs. These are the details from Mrs. Astor's Four Hundred to the weddings, the parties, life in England, and how to remarry or at least play around. Covers 1860 to about 1910. T3
Macy, Jesse (1842-1919)
Markle, D. E.
Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War **** Brings out the arguements as to just how much use espionage was to either side, and especially examines the advances of communications technology -- the telegraph and the newspaper -- for secret communication. T2
Matthews, Frederick C.
American Merchant Ships, 1850-1900 **** Dover; 960 pg in 2 vol, 195 B&W illos The builders, tonnage, voyages, cargoes, and stories aboard of 322 vessels. Surely one is the ship you're looking for! T3
McElroy, John, 1846-1929
McPherson, James M.
What They Fought For: 1861-1865 *****! Political scientists and historians can later come up with all sorts of reasons "why" wars and battles were fought, but only this sort of gleaning from the diaries and letters of soldiers of both sides can tell you why they thought they were fighting, why they stayed to risk death, instead of deserting as was not too terribly difficult in this war. T2
Mellon, James, ed.
Bullwhip Days: The Slaves Remember *****! now from Avon Based on WPA (1930s) interviews with nearly 2000 ex-slaves. Gives 29 stories in full, buttressed by excerts from others, for a fulsome recreation of the life by those no longer in fear of retribution for telling the truth. T2
Miller, Nathan
Spying for America; the Hidden History of US Intelligence ** The Paragon House, 1989; 482 pg, index, bibliography Consider this a primer, if you consider it at all.
Mills, Betty J.
Calico Chronicle: Texas Women and Their Fashions 1830-1910 *****! Texas Tech Press; 1985; 191 pg, 104 photos Frontier, pioneer, and other plain, common, unfashionable folk, with whom the country is filled. What they wore, 1830-1910, and even how they took care of it. T1
Nock, O .S., editor
Encyclopedia of Railroads **** Galahad Books, NY, 1977; 480 pg, index History of railroads and equipment over the entire world, including Africa, Asia, and south America. Sections on equipment and operation, also the great luxury trains, past and present. Gorgeous colour layout, oversize. One lap-breaker worth the effort of lifting. T2
Osprey Books
Osprey military monographs are always worth reading IF you are dealing with members of the target group. Their worst is three stars; the quality of research and illustration is always high, just some are more repetitive of basic information, others more illuminative. T2. Men-at-Arms Series: American Civil War Armies: (1) Confederate; #170 American Civil War Armies: (2) Union; #177 American Civil War Armies: (3) Staff Specialists, Maritime; #179 American Civil War Armies: (4) State Troops, #190 American Civil War Armies: (5) Volunteer Militia, #207 Army of Northern Virginia, #37 Army of the Potomac, #38 Flags of the American Civil War: (1) Confederate, #252 Flags of the American Civil War: (2) Union, #258 Flags of the American Civil War: (3) State & Volunteer, #265 Warrior Series: US Cavalryman, #4 Confederate Infantryman, #6
Osprey military monographs are always worth reading IF you are dealing with members of the target group. Their worst is three stars; the quality of research and illustration is always high, just some are more repetitive of basic information, others more illuminative. T2. Men-at-Arms Series:
Warrior Series:
Pollard, E. A.
The Lost Cause **** 1866; now from Gramercy Press, NY; 752 pg The Confederate version of the War Between the States, which you owe it to yourself to read if you have a single Reb doing other than a walk-on. T2
Russell, Capt. A. J.
Russells's Civil War Photographs **** Dover Publications, Inc., NY; 128 pp 116 Civil War photos, with captions. T3
Salmonson, Jessica Amanda
The Encyclopedia of Amazons: Women Warriors from Antiquity to the Modern Era *** Paragon House, NY, 1991; 290 pg, no index, bibliography The War Between the States had hundreds of women killed and wounded on the battlefields, on both sides. Most had to go disguised as young men. Some botched their disguises early, some were discovered only when sick or wounded. One at least spent the rest of her life as a man. However, the subject is covered in more detail by Hall, above, without being mixed in with other ages. T1
Scheffel, Richard L., project editor
Discovering America's Past ** Reader's Digest Books, Pleasantville, NY; 1993; 400 pg, index, no bibliography An omnium gatherum of inventions, customs, practices and lifestyles, divided into 11 chapters by topic, such as "Educating America" which follows educational development as a series of short articles (half to full page) on unusual (to us) practices or noteworthy developments. Heavily illustrated, flashes of information, one of which may suit you. Best for the pages in the back listing Living History sites you can visit. T3
Schuyler, Hartley, & Graham
Illustrated Catalog of Civil War Military Goods: Union Army Weapons, Insignia, Uniform Accessories and Other Equipment, Schuyler, Hartley & Graham *****! 1866 catalog; now from Dover; 160 pg, 226 illus. The title sums it up. Most re-enactors swear by this. T3
Stephens, Autumn
Wild Women: Crusaders, Curmudgeons and Completely Corsetless Ladies in the Otherwise Virtuous Victorian Era **** Conari Press, Berkley, CA, 1992; 249 pg, no index, bibliograph 150 mini-biographies (none over two pages) of unconventional women. Good to whet the appetite for further research in the bibliography. Note the social hell these women caught, too, for their actions. T2
Stephenson, Nathaniel W. (Nathaniel Wright), 1867-1935
Stokesbury, J. L.
A Short History of the Civil War **** A good grounding for the major events and players, 1860-1865. T1
Tunis, Edwin
Frontier Living **** The World Publishing Company, Leveland, OH & NY, 1961; illustrated by the author Pen drawings manage to be technically accurate and artistic at once. Text in easy, personal style, accurate on what it covers, which is quite a lot of primitive technology. Hits early log cabin settlements, rivermen, Alta California, mountain trappers, weapons, food, milling shelter, clothes, vehicles, etc.! T2
Waugh, Norah
Corsets and Crinolines *****! Theatre Arts Books, 1954 Underpinnings, 1600's to 1925, in period art. T3 The Cut of Men's Clothes 1600-1900 *****! Theatre Arts Books, 1964 The most fashionable men's dress, in period illustrations, with tailor's patterns, period comments on colours and fabrics, etc. Superb. T3 The Cut of Women's Clothes, 1600 to 1930 *****! Theatre Arts Books, 1968 The same for women. Both books show fastenings! T
Corsets and Crinolines *****! Theatre Arts Books, 1954 Underpinnings, 1600's to 1925, in period art. T3
The Cut of Men's Clothes 1600-1900 *****! Theatre Arts Books, 1964 The most fashionable men's dress, in period illustrations, with tailor's patterns, period comments on colours and fabrics, etc. Superb. T3
The Cut of Women's Clothes, 1600 to 1930 *****! Theatre Arts Books, 1968 The same for women. Both books show fastenings! T
White, Andrew Dickson, 1832-1918
Wood, William Charles Henry, 1864-1947
Of course this is before recording, but plenty of sheet music survived, and is being performed and recorded.
Honor to Our Soldiers: Music of the Civil War *****!
CD or Cassette
Songs from both sides, but mainly dance tunes, the sort heard at any social gathering, or while idling away a bit of time on the porch or in camp.
http://www.ucr.edu/h-gig/topperindex.html
A thorough-going linksite maintained by the University of California at Riverside, H-GIG sorts by area, by era (ancient, Medieval, early Modern, Modern<yours>, and 20th C), or by topic (military, women, etc.). It's a good place to start a hunt for books and essays online.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
Halsall, whom we know from the Internet Medieval Sourcebook, is responding to demand in the world by now compiling an onl-line library on modern subjects. As it grows, you never know what has been lately added.
http://www.LHOON.com/phreno/index.html
"Phrenology is the science which studies the relationships between a person's character and the morphology of the skull." Includes a historical overview, definitions of words and concepts, and images with meanings of various characteristics.
http://promo.net/pg/
Since 1971 putting classic books into electronic form.