Fiction and Non-fiction About The U.S. Civil War
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Candle in the Darkness (Refiner's Fire, Book 1) by Lynn Austin During the Civil War, Caroline Fletcher, the daughter of a wealthy slaveholding family, is drawn into the abolitionist movement, where she is confronted with the risks and sacrifices her beliefs entail. Catalog Link |
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The Judas Field: A Novel of the Civil War by Howard Bahr In 1885, haunted by his devastating memories of the Civil War, Cass Wakefield journeys from his Mississippi hometown to Franklin, Tennessee, to recover the bodies of her brother and father, a quest that reawakens Cass’s vivid recollections. Catalog Link |
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March: A Novel by Geraldine Brooks In a story inspired by the father character in “Little Women” and drawn from the journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott’s father, a man leaves behind his family to serve in the Civil War and finds his beliefs challenged by his experiences. Catalog Link |
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White Doves at Morning : A Novel by James Lee Burke Despite their misgivings about “the Cause,” Willie Burke and his best friends, three young men from New Iberia, Louisiana, enlist in the Confederate Army and head off to war, in a novel drawn from the author’s own family history. Catalog Link |
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A Stillness at Appomattox by Bruce Catton An historical account of the final year of the Civil War and the surrender at Appomattox. Catalog Link |
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The Union Quilters: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini Facing radical changes in their roles and outlooks when the men in their lives join the Union forces, the women of Elm Creek Valley’s quilting bee begin an agonizing period of waiting that is shaped by their husbands’ military duties and their respective circumstances. Catalog Link |
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The Red Badge of Courage and Other Stories by Stephen Crane A perceptive account of a young man’s first experiences as a soldier during the Civil War. Catalog Link |
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The March: A Novel by E.L. Doctorow Union General William Tecumsah Sherman’s devastating march through Georgia and the Carolinas during the final years of the Civil War has a profound impact on the outcome of the war. Catalog Link |
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The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner Discusses the life of Abraham Lincoln and his personal and political journey to the abolition of slavery and the recognition of former slaves as American citizens. Catalog Link |
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The Civil War: A Narrative by Shelby Foote Follows four years of military campaigns while viewing the personal objectives of both Union and Confederate leaders. Catalog Link |
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Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War by Newt Gingrich, William Forstchen A fictionalized account of an alternate American Civil War, based on five years of research, considers how history might have transpired if General Robert E. Lee had won the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. Catalog Link |
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1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart Chronicles the revolution of ideas that preceded—and led to—the start of the Civil War, looking at a diverse cast of characters and the actions of citizens throughout the country in their efforts to move beyond compromise and end slavery. Catalog Link |
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Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin An analysis of Abraham Lincoln’s political talents identifies the character strengths and abilities that enabled his successful election, in an account that also describes how he used the same abilities to rally former opponents in winning the Civil War. Catalog Link |
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Escape from Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War by Gene Hackman, Daniel Lenihan Incarcerated within a murderous Confederate prison camp in 1864, Union officer Nathan Parker escapes and urges his superiors to intervene, but when his efforts are blocked by military higher-ups, he organizes a private rescue mission with a shady ex-soldier. Catalog Link |
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The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks A story based on the true experiences of a Civil War heroine finds Carrie McGavock witnessing the bloodshed of the Battle of Franklin, falling in love with a wounded man, and dedicating her home as a burial site for fallen soldiers. Catalog Link |
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Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz A journalist leads readers on a revealing journey through the Old South, tangling with the forces of white rage, rebel grit, and regional pride in places where the Civil War is more than a memory. Catalog Link |
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Enemy Women: A Novel by Paulette Jiles Follows Adair, the daughter of modest farmers in the Missouri Ozarks, who is wrongly accused of enemy collaboration by the Union militia, as she falls in love with her interrogator and embarks on a periloous journey to find her family. Catalog Link |
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The Rope Eater by Ben Jones Fleeing the horrors of the Civil War by deserting, Brendan Kane joins the crew of the Narthex, an oddly shaped vessel, unaware that the ship’s intended destination is a mythic temperate paradise in the heart of the Arctic ice. Catalog Link |
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Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb Disguising herself as a boy to join the Union army alongside her husband, Malinda Blalock raids the farms of Confederate sympathizers and promotes the efforts of governor Zebulon Vance, who would protect Appalachian interests. Catalog Link |
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Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson Focuses on the military campaigns, including strategy and logistics, military leaders, and common soldiers. Catalog Link |
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Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell Spoiled Southern belle Scarlett O’Hara never stops loving the married Ashley Wilkes even as she faces the hardships of life during the Civil War and the changes brought about by Reconstruction. Catalog Link |
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The Crossing by Gilbert Morris Yancy Tremayne, son of an Amish man, joins General Stonewall Jackson’s troops, which leads to adventure and romance with a Southern belle. Catalog Link |
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Coal Black Horse by Robert Olmstead When Robey Childs’s mother experiences a premonition about her husband, a Civil War soldier, she sends her only son to retrieve his father from the battlefield, accompanied by a horse that becomes his only companion as he makes his way through the destruction of war. Catalog Link |
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Manassas (The Civil War Battle Series, Book 1) by James Reasoner Will Brannon, the eldest son of a farming family in Culpeper County, Virginia, enlists in the Confederate army after Virginia secedes from the Union. Catalog Link |
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The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War by Michael Shaara Penetrating portraits of Lee, Longstreet, and other Civil War leaders are interwoven with historical detail to provide a fictional recreation of the bloody battle at Gettysburg. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Catalog Link |
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Fort Pillow: A Novel of the Civil War by Harry Turtledove A tale based on the events of the controversial 1864 Fort Pillow Massacre traces the Confederacy attack against the mixed-race Union garrison at Fort Pillow, a battle led by ruthless cavalry commander Nathan Bedford Forrest. Catalog Link |
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The Friendly Persuasion by Jessamyn West A Quaker’s fondness for fast horses is an amusing sidelight in this tale of Friends who dealt with the Civil War in their own way. Catalog Link |