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FL, USA
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Posted: 1/13/2022 11:08:31 AM EDT
My 10 year old son is very interested in the Civil War. Can anyone recommend a couple of books or websites that could help me provide him the big picture. Of course in school they only tell him it was only about slavery.
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FL, USA
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Posted: 1/13/2022 12:34:48 PM EDT
[#1]
Guns of the South. The authors name is Harry Turtledove. A novel, fiction not history but will be good for his age and for you too. Related from the viewpoints of Gen. Lee and that of a common southern soldier. It is set during the war and five years after its end. It imagines where the war is well progressed, and the South is realizing that they may well lose. then strangers offer assistance to the confederacy, this allows them to win. The assistance is 100,000 AK-47s and ammo. Relating this it sounds silly but the book is very well written.
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FL, USA
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Posted: 1/13/2022 12:42:14 PM EDT
[#2]
Nineteen Months a Prisoner of War. I used to have an original copy passed down through my family. A northerners experience in a southern POW camp. Actual, not fiction. Auther may have been Lt. G. E. Sabre.
I remember one mention of a new arrival vomiting and a small piece of undigested meat seen in the mess, another prisoner grabbed it and ate it. Other prisoners who gave up and went to the 'deadline' boundry so they would be shot and killed. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 1/14/2022 8:35:48 PM EDT
[#3]
Thanks for the recommendations.
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Posted: 1/15/2022 2:33:48 PM EDT
[#4]
"To The Gates Of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign" by Stephen W. Sears. This is about the 1862 campaign that should have ended the Civil War, but failed for so many reasons, those reasons being what makes the history so interesting. Kinda long for a 10 YO @ 500 pages, but it's an engaging read, so that helps! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB5D5S2?tag=arfcom00-20 |
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Posted: 1/15/2022 5:38:08 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Riter]
[#5]
These are all first hand accounts:
Gone For a Solider by Alfred Bellard All for the Regiment by Elisha Hunts Rhodes (sp) One of Jackson's Foot Cavalry by John Worsham I also enjoyed Richard Wheeler's books on the Civil War. He weaves a lot of first hand narratives into the account. Can't help you with big picture books and I've very few of them myself. I've none of those Time Life big pic-chure books on the war. If there is a Civil War Round Table there, take him. They're basically discussion groups and sometimes you get author talks. |
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Posted: 2/8/2022 4:43:34 PM EDT
[#6]
Show your boy this one, OP. Had it in my hands yesterday. Warner carbine, second variation. .50 caliber rimfire-completely unmessed-with and currently owned by the great-great grandson of the soldier who carried it in the war-with documentation. Name, pics of the unit and of his gravesite.
Single digit serial number.  Attached File Attached File |
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Posted: 2/9/2022 1:00:48 PM EDT
[#7]
Civil War Talk is about the best Civil War forum I've used. Lot of knowledgeable and nice people there.
I like Bruce Catton's Army of the Potomac Trilogy (Mr. Lincoln's Army, Glory Road, A Stillness at Appomatox). Mind you, because it concerns the Army of the Potomac, it doesn't cover the Midwest or Trans-Mississippi region. You can get them relatively cheap or free if you want to borrow them from the library. It will establish a foundation for understanding what happened in Virginia. These are first hand accounts by both Union and Confederate soldiers who fought in Virginia that a boy might enjoy: One of Jackson's Foot Cavalry by John Worsham All For the Union by Elisha Hunt Rhodes Gone For a Soldier by Alfred Bellard Eye of the Storm by Robert Sneden (great primitive paintings that now reside in the Virginia Historical Society's collection) Hard Tack and Coffee by John Billings Memoirs of Berry Benson by Berry Benson Military Memoirs of a Confederate and Fighting For the Confederacy by Edward Porter Alexander - the first was published for the general public and the latter was intended exclusively for the family. Both are excellent reads and Alexander writes as well as Grant. General Grant's Memoirs (title may be off) is the best Union memoir I've read but mind you, he is all over the map as he fought all over the place. Unless you son has an understanding of geography and campaigns, he could get lost. Craig Symonds' Battlefield Atlas of the Civil War might be helpful so he can put places into the proper context. |
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Posted: 2/9/2022 1:06:15 PM EDT
[#8]
Richard Wheelers' books are also a lot of fun. He incorporates a lot of first hand eyewitness accounts into his narrative so I read him extensively when I did my research on the black powder sharpshooter. I probably have all of them.
Voices of the Civil War Witness to Gettysburg Sword over Richmond Witness to Appomattox Lee's Terrible Swift Sword The Siege of Vicksburg On The Fields of Fury Sherman's March Of course, for Civil War sharpshooter, might I recommend my own works: Union Sharpshooter v. Confederate Sharpshooter and Sharpshooters (1750-1900): The Men, Their Guns, Their Story. The latter is an exhaustive study on the muzzle loading black powder sharpshooter (later sniper) up to the early development of the sniper in WW I. It is available from the Log Cabin Shop in Lodi, Ohio for $45 plus postage. Call them if you're interested (or get it via interlibrary loan for FREE). |
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Posted: 2/9/2022 1:27:58 PM EDT
[#9]
Ken Burns "The Civil War" nine episode TV documentary is absolutely top notch.
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Posted: 2/9/2022 3:59:36 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By PhuzzyGnu: Ken Burns "The Civil War" nine episode TV documentary is absolutely top notch. Good visual introduction and many of the men he mentions had their memoirs published (hence Burns' reliance on them). The farewell tune though is post-war. |
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Posted: 2/20/2022 3:51:56 AM EDT
[#11]
Ken Burns video still seems to be up, https://archive.org/details/ken.-burns.-the.-civil.-war./Ken.Burns.The.Civil.War.1of9.The.Cause.avi
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Posted: 12/1/2022 3:15:46 PM EDT
[Last Edit: RustyKnifeUSMC]
[#12]
My daughters 6rth grade class is planning to go to Harper’s Ferry, Antietam, & Gettysburg this summer.
There are some good YouTube channels out there. Scroll thru this one “Vlogging Through History”. I really like his “reaction” videos.  10 Things You May Not Know - The Battle of Fredericksburg |
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MO, USA
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Posted: 12/2/2022 12:36:34 PM EDT
[#13]
Personally, I like the naval aspect of the CW a whole lot. "The Monitor and the Merrimack" is a great one. But "A compact history of the United States Navy" has a lot of good stuff too.
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ID, USA
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Posted: 12/3/2022 3:35:58 PM EDT
[#14]
I would recommend, “Soldiers Blue and Grey” by James L. Robertson. I’m a history buff I’m not much of a Civil War guy and I think thats due to the fact much of whats been written is very dry or written in the prose of the time which I’m not a fan of reading sometimes. Thats not the case with this book and I’m sure your son will enjoy this one.
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Posted: 12/3/2022 10:43:13 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By RustyKnifeUSMC: My daughters 6rth grade class is planning to go to Harper’s Ferry, Antietam, & Gettysburg this summer. There are some good YouTube channels out there. Scroll thru this one “Vlogging Through History”. I really like his “reaction” videos.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2xSYCkqKdYFredericksburg was one of those battles that was not won by sharpshooting but sharpshootig made victory possible. The delay of the Union pontineers (bridge builders) bought time for Jackson to march up from the south to shore up Lee's open right flank. Remember Burnside's strategy was to steal a march (which he did), throw a bridge acrooss and race to Richmond before Lee could catch up. Even after that failed, Burnside still wanted to pin down Lee and then drive south but Jackson was there (even though Meade's division achieved a breakthrough, but he was unsupported). If nothing else, it really help buoy Lee's feeling of being undefeatable (and this was reinforced by his victory at Chancellorsville). |
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OR, USA
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Posted: 12/3/2022 10:49:33 PM EDT
[#16]
Boys war
It’s all about kids your sons age who fought for both sides. I got it when it came out in 92 at 11 and still have my copy. |
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NH, USA
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Posted: 12/20/2022 10:11:08 AM EDT
[Last Edit: jb1001]
[#17]
Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales graphic novels are great for that age. My son and nephews went through them voraciously.
If he's a strong reader, maybe Rifles for Watie. That might be above his reading level, though. It won the Newbury Award. |
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NC, USA
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Posted: 1/1/2023 5:22:53 PM EDT
[#18]
The Killer Angels
Landscape Turned Red about Antietam |
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USA
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Posted: 3/13/2023 11:27:05 AM EDT
[#19]
Take him to olustee some time...reenactment is in February, he will be hooked after that
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Posted: 4/14/2023 2:59:21 AM EDT
[Last Edit: scrooster]
[#20]
Subscribed.
I need to revist and contribute to this thread, in earnest, when I am sober. This subject is my life long obsession. Especially given that my youngest son-in-law is a dyed in the wool yankee historian teaching history in South Florida and I am a Southerner who remembers my reconstructionist era great grandparents and what they told me in the 50s ... combined with the books I have since read and the old timer historian I've spoken with ... Shelby Foote. 
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LA, USA
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Posted: 4/14/2023 3:08:33 AM EDT
[#21]
Originally Posted By YIT: My 10 year old son is very interested in the Civil War. Can anyone recommend a couple of books or websites that could help me provide him the big picture. Of course in school they only tell him it was only about slavery. I would start by telling him it was not a civil war, but actually a war of secession, just like the War for Independence. |
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MS, USA
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Posted: 5/19/2023 10:50:51 PM EDT
[#22]
I can recommend “The War Outside My Window” The Civil War Diary of Leroy Wiley Gresham born in 1847.
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GA, USA
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Posted: 5/19/2023 11:08:55 PM EDT
[Last Edit: CQB27]
[#23]
"CO. AYTCH"
MAURY GRAYS, FIRST TENNESSEE REGIMENT SAM WATKINS. Trust me he will love it. |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 7/27/2023 2:21:56 PM EDT
[#24]
I would add the Life of Billy Yank and the Life of Johnny Reb, both by Bell Irvin Wiley.
Amazon Link |
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CO, USA
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Posted: 11/1/2023 4:07:48 PM EDT
[#25]
Civil War Talk. Those guys knows a lot.
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Posted: 11/5/2023 9:49:45 AM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By PhuzzyGnu: Ken Burns "The Civil War" nine episode TV documentary is absolutely top notch. I have the series on DVD if you want to borrow it, send me a PM, it's a very good documentary series. |
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NY, USA
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Posted: 11/11/2023 9:47:14 PM EDT
[Last Edit: gaweidert]
[#27]
Originally Posted By YIT: My 10 year old son is very interested in the Civil War. Can anyone recommend a couple of books or websites that could help me provide him the big picture. Of course in school they only tell him it was only about slavery. It was mainly about slavery. Towards the end of the war Jefferson Davis put forth a proposal to allow slaves to serve in the army with the promise of freedom at the end of the war. R. M. T. Hunter, the president pro tempore of the Senate and one of the Souths largest slave owners wrote a letter to to Davis. Here is a quote from it: "What did we go to war for, if not to protect out property?" The only property that he was in risk of losing was his slaves. From Shelgy Foote's hard bound History of the Civil War volume 3 page 756. |
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Posted: 11/12/2023 8:48:58 AM EDT
[Last Edit: jwlaxton]
[#28]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By gaweidert: It was mainly about slavery. Towards the end of the war Jefferson Davis put forth a proposal to allow slaves to serve in the army with the promise of freedom at the end of the war. R. M. T. Hunter, the president pro tempore of the Senate and one of the Souths largest slave owners wrote a letter to to Davis. Here is a quote from it: "What did we go to war for, if not to protect out property?" The only property that he was in risk of losing was his slaves. From Shelgy Foote's hard bound History of the Civil War volume 3 page 756. Was it mainly about slavery? For the plantation owners - Yes For most of the people that fought for the South - No |
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Posted: 11/12/2023 9:05:30 AM EDT
[#29]
Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant
Sets things up nicely with solid background info on the Mexican American War. |
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GA, USA
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Posted: 11/13/2023 3:56:17 PM EDT
[#30]
The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote
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MO, USA
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Posted: 1/18/2024 3:08:45 PM EDT
[#31]
I agree on Killer Angels, great starter book
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Posted: 1/19/2024 8:33:51 AM EDT
[#32]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By jwlaxton: Was it mainly about slavery? For the plantation owners - Yes For most of the people that fought for the Sourth - No The average southerner didn't own slaves and they were fighting for their rights (states rights). That right includes the implied right to own slaves. Once they enlisted, they were unable to leave as the term of service was extended for the duration of the war. Many southerners privates concluded Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight. The average Yankee was not fighting for emancipation but to preserve the Union. A handful deserted after Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. As the war dragged on (circa 1864), many concluded that slavery was the evil that caused of the war. What This Cruel War was Over by Chandra Manning covers this quite well. |
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