New book on battlefield preservation gives insight into first five Civil War parks

Dr. Timothy B. Smith has teamed up with the University of Tennessee Press to publish an interesting book titled; The Golden Age of Battlefield Preservation: The Decade of the 1890s and the Establishment of America’s First Five Military Parks. Professor Smith details the Golden Age of Battlefield Preservation, the decade of the 1890s, when Congress created and funded the first five Civil War military parks.

Care to take a guess what were the first five Civil War parks? If you said ‘Gettysburg’ you’d be correct but Gettysburg was not the first park, Chickamauga-Chattanooga was.  In fact, of the first five Civil War battlefields to get a national park, three were in the Western Theatre of the war: Chickamauga-Chattanooga, Shiloh and Vicksburg.

Civil War Gazette recently visited Shiloh and Chickamauga-Chattanooga. Flickr picture folders of each park are available here: Chickamauga-Chattanooga and Shiloh.

Books on Lincoln-assassination are riveting.

I recently finished reading my first book on the Lincoln assassination: “They Have Killed Papa Dead!”: The Road to Ford’s Theatre, Abraham Lincoln’s Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance.

Wow, what an interesting book to read. I could not put it down.  Amazing story. The details of the story are so amazing that one could not even imagine a Hollywood screenwriter being able to be more captivating with an imagination of licensed creativity.

This story has gripped my interest deeply.  I’m going to start reading another book on the topic: Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer.

New book on Lincoln-Booth is hard to put down

This weekend I started reading an excellent book on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by Anthony S. Pitch; “They Have Killed Papa Dead!”

Very interesting and fast-paced.  Does not read like a dry historical text.

The Library of Congress has a section in the official Abraham Lincoln Papers called the Assassination of President Lincoln. Check it out.

Great story about a Civil War locomotive chase

I’m currently reading a very well-written and enjoyable book, Stealing the General, by Russell S. Bonds.

It’s the true account of how a band of Union soldiers swept down near Atlanta in April 1862 and stole a locomotive called The General.

They almost got away with it but many would lose their lives by being hanged by the Rebels.

The General on display in Georgia

Book Review: Gale Library Of Daily Life: American Civil War

American Civil War: The Gale Library of Daily Life

The Gale Library of Daily Life: American Civil War gets five cannister balls!

A new two-volume, 600 page set, titled – Gale Library of Daily Life: American Civil War – has just been published and it is a vital addition for the serious student of the American Civil War. The Gale Group sought submission from scholars and historians to complete this excellent resource with over 200 articles included in the set. The publisher is Gale Cenage Learning.

The two-volume set focuses on the daily life of soldiers and civilians, North and South, during the Civil War.

A key feature of the essays will be excerpts from first-person accounts to illustrate the lives of men, women, and children, including slaves and their families, during the epic conflict that shaped America.

The writers were able to access Gale Group’s proprietary database of primary resources including “memoirs, letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, excerpts from other published works.” Professor and prolific author-historian Steven E. Woodworth at Texas Christian University was the senior editor for the work and also wrote a few of the articles.

The set breaks down into nine major areas, with numerous sub-areas under these major headings. Volume 1 is broken down into four major categories: A Soldier’s Life, Family and Community, Religion, and Popular Culture. Volume 2 breaks down into five major categories: Health & Medicine, Work & Economy, Politics, Effects of the War on Slaves and Freedpeople.

The articles are well-written, readable and accessible, and expertly edited by Woodworth and the editorial team. Each article also lists 4-10 recommended reading sources at the end. There is also a very nice 10-page annotated bibliography in volume two.

There are a generous selection of original pictures or photos but not too many. There is also an eight-page chronology of the Civil War.

This two-volume set is a MUST for public libraries and should be a top priority for individuals who are serious about studying the Civil War. Subscribers to North & South Magazine or Civil War Times would be ideal readers of Gale Library of Daily Life: American Civil War.

Book Review: looking for CSA soldiers killed at Franklin?

The McGavock Confederate Cemetery: “A Revised and Updated Compilation”

Author and historian Eric Jacobson has produced a valuable resource for people who need to research the Confederate soldiers who are buried at McGavock Confederate Cemetery in Franklin, TN. The Civil War Gazette awards this book four cannisters.

This book is indispensable to getting a grasp for the Battle of Franklin (Nov 30, 1864). Jacobson is dogged in getting to the bottom of controversial issues regarding the cemetery.

The McGavock Confederate Cemetery is the largest privately-owned military (and Confederate) cemetery in the United States. Almost 1,500 southern boys are buried there.

You MUST read this book before you visit McGavock, and it should be on the bookshelf of every serious student of Tennessee in the Civil War, especially those interested in Franklin.

Jacobson is the historian of the Historic Carnton Plantation.

Book review: Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the West (Reflections on the Civil War Era)

Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the West (Reflections on the Civil War Era)

Professor Woodworth delivers another top-notch book, this time on the Western Theater.  He gets five cannisters for Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the West (Reflections on the Civil War Era).

Dr. Steven E. Woodworth is one of the best Civil War historians and authors today. His writing is clean, concise, spot on, well-researched, easy to read, and he’s not afraid to make his case regardless how controversial the topic is. It’s hard to believe Dr. Woodworth – Professor of History at Texas Christian University – is just in his mid-40s.

This is a great intro-book for people not very familiar with the Western Theater during the Civil War. You can not go wrong with this book

Book Review: book on Battle of Franklin deserves must-read

For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair At Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin

by Eric A. Jacobson, Richard A. Rupp

is awarded five cannisters

In For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair At Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin,
Historic Carnton Plantation author and historian Eric Jacobson has provided us with an up-to-date, accurate, comprehensive and lively treatment of the Battle of Franklin (30 November 1864). Jacobson also amply covers the pre-Franklin action in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

The Battle of Franklin was arguably one of the bloodiest five hours during the American Civil War (1861-1865). There were roughly 10,000 casualties, with probably 2,500 killed outright.

The narratives moves briskly in For Cause & for Country: A Study of the Affair At Spring Hill & the Battle of Franklin. The author covers a lot of action in this book. Jacobson is generous with his citations from the Official Records, authentic letters and diaries, and post-war recollections and accounts, especially from the National Tribune.

His treatment of the key leaders, on both sides, is fair. Jacobson knows when to intersperse battle action with an appropriate soldier first-hand account.

Jacobson is trust-worthy in his research, reliable in his interpretations, and fair in his critiques.

If you have buy one book about the Battle of Franklin start with this book by Eric Jacobson.

Book Review: Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families

Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families
by Andrew Billingsley

is awarded five cannisters

Robert Smalls (1839 – 1915) is a little known figure outside of South Carolina but he deserves to be known by everyone, especially by those who love great stories.

I stumbled upon the story of Smalls’s infamous escape as a slave during the American Civil War (May 1862) by accident. Several years later after thorough ongoing research has rewarded my diligence with finding this book by Billingsley.

The author takes a sociological approach throughout making it for an interesting angle to consider the life and accomplishments of Smalls.

There are several other fine books available about Robert Smalls – mostly out of print – so this edition is updated, accurate, fairly comprehensive and a rich source for understanding Smalls.

Well-documented and carefully researched.

Book Review: story of escaped slave Robert Smalls well-told in book aimed at middle school audience

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story

by Janet Halfmann

is awarded five cannisters

I recall reading biographies of Jacques Cartier, John Paul Jones, and Davy Crockett when I was in the 4th grade. These stories took my imagination along great paths of discovery and ignited a love for history for me.

I wish I could have read Halfmann’s version (Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story) of the Robert Smalls (1839-1915) story of escaping from the Confederacy during the Civil War when I was 10 or 11. It would have fired my imagination and interest in the American Civil War much earlier.

Halfmann’s version of the Smalls story is refreshingly accurate and very well written. The text moves along at a good pace. Unlike Kennedy’s new book on Smalls (Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s American Heroes: Robert Smalls, the Boat Thief), Halfmann is faithful to the true story in what she covers and what she has to omit for a children’s audience.

A real surprise is the bibliography in the back of Halfmann’s book which will serve the curious teacher and student well.

I would add one book to the reading list (for the teacher) that Halfmann does not cite as a source for her book: Yearning to Breathe Free: Robert Smalls of South Carolina and His Families, by Andrew Billingsley.

Seven Miles to Freedom: The Robert Smalls Story book should be in every elementary school library in the United States.