Category References
The Art of War
This book by Baron Antoine-Henri de Jomini was written in 1838. This version was translated by Capt. G. H. Mendell and Lt. W. P. Craighill of the US Army in 1862. You can read it for free here and here. Jomini served under Napoleon in the French army and appointed himself as a theorist of […]
Civil War Weather in Virginia
This book by the long-term Civil War historian Robert K. Krick is a reference book, not a book one would normally read as a narrative. He explains, “Most of the fundamental weather details of temperature and precipitation herein come from a ledger kept by the Reverent C. B. Mackee, who faithfully made readings in Georgetown, […]
The Arsenal of History
This article by Harold E. Mahan comes from Civil War History, Volume XXIX, No. 1, March, 1983, pages 5-27. It gives us the story of The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, popularly known as “the Official Records,” or simply “the OR.” The OR is […]
A Concise Guide to the Artillery at Gettysburg
This short book by the late Gettysburg historian and ranger Gregory Coco is an excellent guide for anyone interested in the artillery at Gettysburg. “To be deployed effectively, artillery batteries had to be concentrated in dominating clusters on key terrain features, so as to mass their overwhelming weight of fire against a particular or isolated […]
Love Civil War Research? Thank These Union Veterans and Their Books
This article by Gary Gallagher appeared in the February, 2022 issue of Civil War Times magazine, among the best of popular history magazines. “Anyone interested in the military history of the Civil War owes a debt to William F. Fox and Frederick H. Dyer. Both Union veterans, they engaged in almost unimaginably tedious research, organized a […]
PBS US History Collection
PBS has done a real service to educators by putting together this site consisting of interactive lessons and videos, as well as other media, covering the gamut of US history. According to their description of their site, “The U.S. History Collection on PBS LearningMedia enables middle and high school teachers and students to use media […]
The Union Generals Speak
With this book, editor Bill Hyde gives us transcripts of the testimonies US generals gave to the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War regarding the battle of Gettysburg. Along the way Hyde provides his own comment to put the testimony in perspective and provides his interpretations of the testimony and the actions of […]
History in Dispute: Charlottesville and Confederate Monuments–A Teacher Resource
This site has some excellent links and resources teachers can use when teaching about the fascist riot in Charlottesville and when teaching about confederate monuments. It has these objectives: Students will: Understand the idea of historical memory. Contextualize recent events in Charlottesville within a larger historical controversy. Apply the concept of historical memory to the […]
Great Resources From Your United States Army
The US Army’s Center for Military History has over 600 military history publications available, including at least eight monographs on Civil War battles and campaigns. You can access them for free here. These are really terrific and well worth your perusal.
Online Courses On the Way
My friend Keith Harris is an independent historian. That means he’s not in academia, but does have a Ph.D. in history. Keith’s putting together some online courses that will be available at his website for a small fee. He is, after all, investing his time and effort into putting them together and as a professional […]
Student of the American Civil War 
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