Overview

In the years following the American Civil War, many participants—generals, politicians, journalists, and soldiers—authored first-hand accounts of their unique experiences. As Alfred E. Smith of the Library of Congress wrote in 1998, “No chapter of American history has been so voluminously recorded.” While the quality and reliability of the memoirs vary, a large number provide important perspectives that, taken together, offer vivid descriptions of major battles, political developments, and other momentous events from Fort Sumter to Appomattox. In Remembering the Civil War, historians Michael Barton and Charles Kupfer carefully select excerpts from the memoirs of key participants and weave them together to tell the story of the war in a single volume. Contributors include Union generals Ulysses Grant, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, W.T. Sherman, Abner Doubleday, and Philip Sheridan. Confederate authors include Robert E. Lee, Gen. James Longstreet, Cpl. Sam Watkins, Lt. John W. Worsham, Col. Edward Porter Alexander, Capt. John Wilkinson, and Jefferson Davies. Personal documents provide soldiers’ perspectives of what fighting was like on the ground, as well as hospital and prison life. A comprehensive introduction and headnote for each excerpt provide background information and context.

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9781493059331

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Reviews

For those who prefer their Civil War history 'straight from the horse's mouth, ' this is the book for them. Michael Barton and Charles Kupfer have raided the vast cache of memoirs, journals, documents, and first-hand action reports, and for us, picked the choicest morsels from the major events of the war. This is an 'I was there' book that vividly brings back those times and sits us in a front row seat. It is a most worthy addition to Civil War literature. --John C. Waugh, author of The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox--Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan and Their Brothers The volunteer Union army nurse Walt Whitman said that 'the real war will never get in the books.' That may have been an accurate prediction for many Civil War books, but much of the real war does get into this anthology of excerpts from letters and memoirs written by those who actually participated in the conflict, including Whitman. To read these descriptions of camp life, marches, battles, hospitals, and much else is the next thing to being there. --James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

Author Information

Michael L.Barton is professor emeritus of American Studies at Penn State Harrisburg. His Civil War books include Goodmen: The Character of Civil War Soldiers; The Civil War Soldier: A Historical Reader; and The Civil War Veteran: A Historical Reader. Charles D. Kupfer is associate professor of American Studies, School of Humanities, and Director, Center for Holocaust and Jewish Studies, at Penn State Harrisburg. He is the author of two books on military history: We Felt the Flames: Hitler's Blitzkrieg, America's Story and Indomitable Will: Turning Defeat into Victory from Pearl Harbor to Midway.

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