Civil War Books Civil War Movies
Civil War Timeline Civil War Battles Civil War Generals
The Civil War … April 12,1861 to April 9,1865…
from the Battle of Fort Sumter, First Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Shiloh, The Seven Days, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, The Battle of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Atlanta, the Siege of Petersburg to Appomattox.
These are just a few of the most well known Civil War Battles, the epic clashes between the Armies of the Union and the Confederacy during our American Civil War.
We offer you the finest books written about that turbulent and tragic time in our young nations’ history. Hear the guns..and the shouts of the officers and men as they charge courageously through a wall of hot lead, iron and flame. Advancing with honor into memory and the hallowed chapters of duty and sacrifice ..their names now spoken one thousand times, never to be forgotten.
Feel the terror of defeat, the lightheaded stupor of victory..the pride ..the shame..the loss and the passion ..as you live the lives and learn the inner facts about the battles, the men, the women and the hardships they endured..while living, fighting in our American Civil War.
Civil War Timeline, Civil War Battles, Civil War Generals. All right here for you the reader. So learn the facts, understand their passion. Share the stories and keep the meaning and purpose they fought so hard for, and died so courageously for.. in that special place you and I continue to honor and respect.
Welcome to our site.. “The Civil War”.. developed for folks like us who have a deeper interest in that Civil War period of time from ..April 12,1861- through the surrender of April 9,1865 at Appomattox,Virginia.
We have listed the finest Civil War books..by the best authors of that period.. Shelby Foote, Bruce Catton, Michael Shaara, Jeff Shaara, James M. McPherson, as well as Ken Burns Civil War .. the riveting and powerful, moving and educational Civil War movie documentary by Ken Burns as seen on PBS.
Hear their stories, feel the emotion, the buildup, the first shots at Ft.Sumter. Than the pride of our nation..from North and South prepare for the first inevitable clash..first blood at Manassas,Va., also known as the “First Battle of Bullrun”.
There during this first major engagement, Brigadier General Thomas Jackson will earn his eternal nickname “Stonewall” .. as his regiment stands .. unmoving …fighting to hold their ground..while under Federal attack.
This is just one of thousands of facts available in these dynamic books that you will read and hopefully share with family and friends. This site is a dedication to you and your interest in this most tragic time in our American history.
And especially to the people who lived through and within America’s Civil War.
This time in our history forged a nation that had only taken shape less than 90 years before when we shook off the chains of England..who now waited patiently.. eyeing our divided power structure..ready to support the division and weakening of our Union.
Our Nation would never be the same..over 620,000 deaths before wars end..and a division that lasts to this day in some areas of our great country.
Browse the Civil War books..the Civil War movies on DVD..hear their stories. We know you will find all of these books very hard to put down .. once you start reading about the people, the officers and regulars, the civilians, the victors and the defeated, the innocent victims, their once peaceful and happy lives now changed forever or simply cut short suddenly.
Put yourself in their places for a moment. Issues surrounding slavery, economics, industrialization, culture, religious beliefs, states rights, political power, geographic expansion all came to a boil. Both sides believe they are right.
Ultimatums are given, political negotiations break down, armies are mustered and the first shot is fired. There is no turning back.
Army comrades from West Point who fought together in the Mexican War, all wearing the blue will now have to make choices. Especially hard is the decision a Southerner must make. Easier for a Northerner. But a man from down south whichever way he chose, would forever be a hero to the side he chose, but a traitor to the other.
Many a military “goodbye party” of best friends was filled with extreme sadness as soldiers and classmates, most battle hardened and steady put on the air of being strong and having a good time, only to be brought to tears later when having to say goodbye, often for the last time.
Most felt the war would be over quickly, but many veterans understanding the strength of personal belief and the deep chasm that lie between the north and south knew the level of aggression and bloodshed that might come to pass.
One of these most well known friendships was Union General Winfield Scott Hancock and CSA General Lewis A. Armistead. From Pennsylvania and North Carolina respectively, they would later face each other across the dusty and bloodsoaked “killing ground” at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
4pm July 3,1863…. ” Pickett’s Charge”..a hot and hazy Sunday afternoon, as Lee orders an attack on the Union center including the division of General Gorge Pickett. Over 12,000 Confederates will walk and than dog trot into the waiting Federal line, right into Hancock. General Hancock will receive a wound to the inner right thigh when a bullet strikes his saddle pummel shooting a saddle nail and wood into his leg along with the bullet. A wound he would feel all his life.
Lewis “Lo” Armistead would not be so lucky in surviving the battle. But his name will live forever as the Confederate Brigadier who led his brigade to the “High Water Mark of the Confederacy”,as his is the only brigade to break the Union line during that ill-fated but most valiant of Confederate attempts called “Picketts Charge”.
A charge deemed a failure before it happened. Brave southern Americans walking into certain death with the courage and elan that epitomized the Antebellum belief in the bloody struggle. Armistead and his brave southerners will actually reach the Union artillery in the center but he will receive wounds that will induce fever and shock, dying 2 days later. Both men selflessly enquiring several times of the others condition. Hancock was deeply saddened when told that his good friend and previous “comrade in arms” Lew Armistead had died. ( Armistead was hit 3 times in the left arm and below his left knee. Wounds to flesh that the Union surgeon felt he could survive as they did not break bone nor major arteries.)
What would they have thought back then if they knew that their names and very deeds would be immortalized, carved in the stone of time. Stories told by firelight to children, tales of family members .. of bold charges and selfless acts of courage during the worst moments that a soldier or civilian can live through…War.
And the “national sadness” that took over our country during the later years due to losses of life that were unheard of in our history.. and completely unexpected. Most thought in the beginning this political alignment and terrible military standoff would have been over in a few weeks or months at worst.
” All for the Union” ( 5 Star Civil War Diary)
Read the amazing journey of a Rhode Island boy Elijah Hunt Rhodes, enlisting in the Union Army in 1861 and living through 4 long years of major battles. Becoming a Colonel through promotions he will lead his soldiers to the final surrender. His letters and diary were kept and are considered to be the most fascinating and precise.
As mentioned in Ken Burns “The Civil War”.
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