Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Wild Bill

Wild Bill, Being a True and Exact History of all the Sanguinary Combats and Hair-breadth Escapes of James Butler Hickok, the Most Famous Scout America Ever Produced. A biography of the Civil War and the Old West by J.W. Buel, originally published in 1880.
Before he went West to become immortalized as 'Wild Bill', James Butler Hickok was a scout for the Union in Bloody Missouri during the Civil War.
Currently unavailable.

McClellan and the Army of the Potomac

McClellan and the Army of the Potomac by Juan Prim, originally published in 1895
Many of the armies of Europe sent observers, like Arthur Fremantle from England and the Count of Paris and his aristocratic friends from France, along with representatives of the Czar and other crowned heads of state, to view and record the revolutionary events of the Civil War and, on occasion, to take an enthusiastic part.
A Spanish general, Prim spent time with the Army in its camps on the James River. His observations on its condition and its practices and his comments on its abilities, though quaint in retrospect, provide a unique view of the Union Army. His measure of the power of the North, along with his notion of the aftermath of the war, would prove prophetic.
Currently unavailable.

The Mortal Wounding of General Mansfield

The Mortal Wounding of General Mansfield at Antietam by John Mead Gould, originally published in 1895.
Fighting with the Tenth Maine, Gould was present when General Mansfield was killed.
For years after the war, veterans of that horrible day continued to argue over the precise spot where their beloved general fell. While these disagreements may seem trivial today, it was very significant to them, much as later soldiers would argue over the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima, or the march from Frozen Chosin: it gave them a way to deal with the overwhelming tragedy of the war by focusing on its details.
Using reminiscences by veterans of both sides, this book presents a compelling case for the final minutes of the life of Brigadier General Joseph King Fenno Mansfield, who was mortally wounded on 17 September, 1862, in the bloody woods of Antietam.
Currently unavailable.

A Prisoner of War in Virginia

A Prisoner of War in Virginia, An Experience in Virginia Prisons During the Last Winter of the War by George Haven Putnam, originally published in 1912.
The harrowing experience of a young lieutenant in Libby and Danville prisons during the harsh winter of 1864 to 1865. Captured after the Battle of Cedar Creek, he was first imprisoned in Richmond at the infamous Libby Prison, then transferred to Danville.
Facing death from starvation and abuse, Putnam chronicles the torments and the triumphs of the Union officers held in the prisoner of war camps of the Confederacy. Appointed an officer of the exchange, he reveals how the Southern military was unprepared, even in defeat, to deal honorably with the Union prisoners of war. Included are appendices on the horrific conditions at Andersonville, as compared to the relatively mild conditions in the Northern camps, and the famed tunnel escape, organized by Colonel Rose, out of Libby Prison.
Currently unavailable.

Appomattox

Appomattox by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, originally published in 1903.
An account of the last battle of the Civil War, as witnessed by one of its heroes. Chamberlain was accorded the honor of receiving the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, following the signing by Grant and Lee of the surrender documents at Appomattox, Virginia in April of 1865.
A poignant and moving reminiscence of the end of the War through the eyes of a literate and poetic soldier, one who witnessed the best and the worst in the great battles from Gettysburg to Appomattox.
Currently unavailable.