Civil War Thread

[1.21GW]

I figure there might be some people on here interested in Civil War history.  I am no expert or fanatic, but have read a few books, seen some documentaries, and visited Gettysburg and Shiloh.  Thinking about riding down to Antietam sometime this summer, too.  Anyway, thought I'd start a thread where folks might share book recommendations, suggestions for battlefield visits (or rides to), etc.

[1.21GW]

And so I will post the first (and possibly only) post:

Just finished Landscape Turned Red by Stephen Sears about the Battle of Antietam.  'Twas okay, but I thought his book on Gettysburg did a better job of illuminating the battle.  The thing I did take away from Landscape is that so much of fighting was absolute chaos---divisions lost in smoke-filled cornfields or woods who just stumble upon a flank and decimate it (or get decimated), petty quarrels between generals that leave corps stranded or without support, etc.  Really an organic battle, and one that relied on the quick ability of officers to analyze and adapt in real time.

Tough though to visualize it all from maps in a book, so I look forward to visiting it.  Touring Gettysburg with a guide really helped me understand the decisions, advantages, and mistakes that I've read about but aren't rendered wholly until I stood on the Peach Orchard, in Devil's Den, or that massive field that Pickett had to cross.  Crazy.  Anyway, if anyone has been to Antietam and has any recommendations for tour guides or experiences, please share.

[kopfjäger]

Killer Angels

[ungeheuer]

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/287097.Telegram_From_Guernica

[1.21GW]

Killer Angels

That's a good read.  And nice to get a dramatized version of events, rather than some of the dry factual stuff.  I still prefer well written non-fiction to historical fiction, though, so I think my favorite remains Sears' Gettysburg or McPherson's Battlecry of Freedom.

[the_Journeyman]

Our town does a civil war ancestry thing every year.  Your post might get me to go check it out. 

JM

[zooom]

I personally like visiting Harpers Ferry...between the history, the landscape being rather unspoiled...and the nice roads surrounding and getting to there for the moto....well...it is a win/win!

[1.21GW]

Our town does a civil war ancestry thing every year.  Your post might get me to go check it out. 

JM

If you go, share some pics.  (I always enjoy your ride reports.)

[yamifixer]

I read allot of history and lately have been pretty much concentrating on the civil war in honor of the 150th anniversary.

If you need a hard core history lesson pick up Shelby Foote's 3 book history of the entire war. It is a VERY dry read but so complete it is interesting. you will learn more than you think.

I also recommend "Sickles at Gettysburg" by Hessler and if you are into naval history at all I have a a great book about the USS Monitor but for the life of me I cannot remember the name here at work.

As for actual battlefields, I highly recommend Petersburg National Battlefield just south of Richmond VA. It is very well set up. I also enjoyed Bull run (Manassas). I have yet to make it to Gettysburg myself. have to talk my wife into that one. She is way less into it than me.

Also here along the coast of NC there are several forts that saw action during the war.

[triangleforge]

Visit all the sites you can. Both for the feel of a place (there are things you'll never get from a book - it's difficult to imagine crossing the open field, up that long, stout hill leading up to the Sunken Road at Second Manassas all under heavy fire, or the similar spots in Fredericksburg & the scene of Pickett's charge at Gettysburg), and for a taste of the struggle that continues after the war - pay close attention to the monuments, where they are placed, when and by whom.

I'm a big fan of James MacPherson, and highly recommend his book For Cause and Comrades - Why Men Fought in the Civil War. It takes a rigorous historical look at letters and other primary sources to answer some of those questions - why did men enlist, especially after it became clear that the war would be a long, deadly slog, and why did they charge up hills like the one at Fredericksburg, running over mounds of bodies with little hope that their sacrifice would make any difference, aside from making the piles higher? Probably the first book I read on the war was Bruce Catton's trilogy, and I still like it - he had a way of noticing and describing the details and ironies of big events that make history come alive for me.

And check out the music of the war as well - along with letters, the songs were one of the few outlets for men on both sides to record all the things that were happening around them. A number of them like "Lorena" were huge hits on both sides of the line, selling millions of copies of the sheet music and (at least according to Ken Burns) reaching a popularity that caused several officers to ban the song because they thought it too melancholy and harmful of morale.

[1.21GW]

I have yet to make it to Gettysburg myself. have to talk my wife into that one. She is way less into it than me.

Well, if ever there were a year to go, this is it. It's the 150th Anniversary.  Lots of special events.

I'll check into the Sickles book.

[1.21GW]

Rode down to Antietam (Sharpsburg, MD) this weekend to tour the battlefield.  I hired one of the park's licensed tour guides and he was great.  I highly highly highly recommend it to anyone within driving distance.  Even better if you take the bike: roads in northern MD are empty, curving, and with open views of gorgeous farm land and forests.

A few pics below. (I am no Journeyman/JM, so forgive the unpolished presentation.  )

[1.21GW]

It was remarkable how well preserved it is.  Some pics from 1862 vs now:

Bloody Lane (the figures in the 1862 photo are standing where the stone wall/stairs are in my pic):





Burnside Bridge:

[the_Journeyman]

Yesterday I was where the opening shots of the civil war were fired.

JM

[triangleforge]

The sites at Antietam, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg, First Manassas & Second Manassas (worth exploring each individually, even though they're the same place) are all worth as much time as you can invest in exploring them. I'd like to have seen more to the south of Fredericksburg when I lived in the area, as well as some of the sites further west that were part of the Mississippi campaigns.

If you're within a day or two of the central theater of the war you owe it to yourself (not to mention your kids) to explore the Civil War history that's all around you.