The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread dedicated to discussing American Civil War - Memoirs and Diaries.

This thread was suggested by new member Nick.

Thanks Bentley!

I recently went to the UVA campus in Virginia. They have a significant collection of old books, diaries and historical documents tracing back to the founding of the United States. The students are allowed to study in the library where many of the books are maintained, which is pretty neat.

While there I noticed a few old diaries in the Rotunda and looked them up on my phone. While you cannot easily find these books for sale or review, I did find a website which a categorical listing of some of the rare civil war journals.

I'm not too experienced with HTML in goodreads yet, but here is a link to an example Diary



And here is the main page



Enjoy!

by Reid Mitchell is excerpts from numerous diaries, letters homes, etc., put in historical context. Well worth seeking out.

Thanks James - it looks interesting.

Nick - glad you like the add. And thanks for your contribution.

What a find!!!

The Lost Civil War diaries, the Diaries of Corporal Timothy J. Regan

by Pluskat (no photo)

Synopsis:

Lost and forgotten in a travel trunk for almost 60 years, the diaries were discovered in the 1950s but languished in silence and obscurity until the recent discovery of the identity of their author, Corporal Timothy J. Regan of Boston's Irish regiment, the 9th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, in 1998.

Now after 141 years, these diaries originally compiled in two manuscripts, are being published for the first time unedited and in their entirety. These diaries are well-written, lengthy, upbeat and patriotic. They are a real gem that will appeal to both the professional historian, because of the many documented details and to the average person, because it reads like a true adventure story. Mr. Regan documents over 100 Civil War poems, short stories, the battle?at Gettysburg, General Orders, an execution, Pres. Lincoln's assassination and many other interesting statistics and events from the war and Boston area.

Relive the life of a Union soldier in the American Civil War from Corporal Timothy J. Regan's 3 year enlistment on June 11, 1861, through the war and beyond to March 10, 1876.

Newly discovered, the diaries of Corporal Timothy J. Regan, a true Irish American Hero, are a must-have for any Civil War History collection. They will be treasured for generations to come!

Good Jill - could you divide the paragraphs for readability

Done.

Inside Lincoln's White House: The Complete Civil War Diary of John Hay

by Michael Burlingame (no photo)

Synopsis:

On 18 April 1861, assistant presidential secretary John Hay recorded in his diary the report of several women that "some young Virginian long haired swaggering chivalrous of course. . . and half a dozen others including a daredevil guerrilla from Richmond named Ficklin would do a thing within forty eight hours that would ring through the world."

The women feared that the Virginian planned either to assassinate or to capture the president. Calling this a "harrowing communication," Hay continued his entry: "They went away and I went to the bedside of the Chief couché. I told him the yarn; he quietly grinned."

This is but one of the dramatic entries in Hay’s Civil War diary, presented here in a definitive edition by Michael Burlingame and John R. Turner Ettlinger. Justly deemed the most intimate record we will ever have of Abraham Lincoln in the White House, the Hay diary is, according to Burlingame and Ettlinger, "one of the richest deposits of high-grade ore for the smelters of Lincoln biographers and Civil War historians." While the Cabinet diaries of Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Gideon Welles also shed much light on Lincoln’s presidency, as does the diary of Senator Orville Hickman Browning, none of these diaries has the literary flair of Hay’s, which is, as Lincoln’s friend Horace White noted, as "breezy and sparkling as champagne." An aspiring poet, Hay recorded events in a scintillating style that the lawyer-politician diarists conspicuously lacked.

Burlingame and Ettlinger’s edition of the diary is the first to publish the complete text of all of Hay’s entries from 1861 through 1864. In 1939 Tyler Dennett published Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and Letters of John Hay, which, as Civil War historian Allan Nevins observed, was "rather casually edited." This new edition is essential in part because Dennett omitted approximately 10 percent of Hay’s 1861–64 entries.

Not only did the Dennett edition omit important parts of the diaries, it also introduced some glaring errors. More than three decades ago, John R. Turner Ettlinger, then in charge of Special Collections at the Brown University Library, made a careful and literal transcript of the text of the diary, which involved deciphering Hay’s difficult and occasionally obscure writing. In particular, passages were restored that had been canceled, sometimes heavily, by the first editors for reasons of confidentiality and propriety. Ettlinger’s text forms the basis for the present edition, which also incorporates, with many additions and much updating by Burlingame, a body of notes providing a critical apparatus to the diary, identifying historical events and persons.

Important book, thanks Jill. He went on to write this outstanding 2 volume work:

by Michael Burlingame (no photo)

Elizabeth Van Lew a/k/a Crazy Bet is one of my favorite Civil War figures, a woman from Richmond who freed her slaves and spied for the Union. Her diary isn't particularly readable, but it's an important document:

by Elizabeth L. Van Lew (no photo)

Perhaps even more important was Miss Van Lew's former slave, Mary Bowser, educated at Miss Van Lew's expense and then sent to work/spy in the home of Jefferson Davis. Unfortunately, even less is known of her because good spies leave no trails.

Thank you Kressel and thank you Bryan and Jill and everyone else for their contributions.

Thanks Teri - interesting website.

An unusual diary written by a non-combatant.

This War So Horrible: The Civil War Diary of Hiram Smith Williams

by Hiram Smith Williams (no photo)

Synopsis:

Most intriguing . . . for it is the diary of a Confederate who spent most of his military service as a noncombatant . . . a soldier who was also an outspoken opponent of military life and war in general and of the Civil War in particular. Hiram Smith Williams was a native Northerner who moved to the South shortly before the war but enlisted as a private in the 40th Alabama Infantry. . . . This truly unique diary, which is enlivened by Williams’s keen eye for detail, a certain literary flair, and his frank assessment of the Confederate army and cause, also includes extensive notes and a perceptive introduction.

Another excellent first hand report from the American Civil War.

All for the Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes

by Elisha Hunt Rhodes (no photo)

Synopsis:

All for the Union is the eloquent and moving diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, who enlisted into the Union Army as a private in 1861 and left it four years later as a 23-year-old lieutenant colonel after fighting hard and honorably in battles from Bull Run to Appomattox. Anyone who heard these diaries excerpted on the PBS-TV series The Civil War will recognize his accounts of those campaigns, which remain outstanding for their clarity and detail. Most of all, Rhodes's words reveal the motivation of a common Yankee foot soldier, an otherwise ordinary young man who endured the rigors of combat and exhausting marches, short rations, fear, and homesickness for a salary of $13 a month and the satisfaction of giving "all for the union."

Thanks Jill

Diary of a Civil War Surgeon

by Thomas Ellis (no photo)

Synopsis:

In the early days of the American Civil War, the want of adequate combat medicine was a constant complaint by officers in the field. Thomas Ellis already had experience serving the British Army in South Africa. He was appointed Post Surgeon and later Medical Director.

He was wounded in battle but not before performing countless duties to soldiers of both sides. He was mustered out of the army before the end of the war and wrote this book in 1863.

Ellis' account of his experiences in battle are riveting. He scrupulously avoids any politics or partisanship and sticks to an account of the excitement and sorrow around him.

Marching with the First Nebraska: A Civil War Diary

by August Scherneckau (no photo)

Synopsis:

August Scherneckau’s diary is the most important firsthand account of the Civil War by a Nebraska soldier that has yet come to light. A German immigrant, Scherneckau served with the First Nebraska Volunteers from 1862 through 1865. Depicting the unit’s service in Missouri, Arkansas, and Nebraska Territory, he offers detail, insight, and literary quality matched by few other accounts of the Civil War in the West. His observations provide new perspective on campaigns, military strategy, leadership, politics, ethnicity, emancipation, and a host of other topics.

Scherneckau takes readers on the march as he and his comrades plod through mud and snow during a grueling winter campaign in the Missouri Ozarks. He served as a provost guard in St. Louis, where he helped save a former slave from kidnappers and observed the construction of Union gunboats. He describes the process of transforming a regiment from infantry to cavalry, and his account of the First Nebraska’s pursuit of Freeman’s Partisans in Arkansas is an exciting portrayal of mountain fighting.

After the Rain: Virginia's Civil War Diary

by Mary Pope Osborne

Synopsis:

In the final months of the Civil War, Virginia and her family move to Washington, D.C. where the cold winter brings uncertainty and hardship. Virginia takes a job as a servant in a wealthy home to help her family. But, just as things start to improve as her father gets a job, and the war finally comes to an end, the tragic assassination of Ginny's beloved President Lincoln occurs. In this, her second diary chronicling the Civil War, Ginny learns that life is constantly changing. Indeed, even as Lincoln dies, her nephew is born. Throughout, Ginny faces life with hope and courage.

A Delta Diary - Amanda Worthington's Civil War Diary

by Troy (Woody) Woods (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is the diary of a young woman who grew up in the Mississippi Delta on a Cotton Plantation during the Civil War. Amanda Worthington recorded daily events in her life and gives the reader insight into what it was like to live in the Delta during the Antebellum period. At first Amanda occasionally mentioned the war, but as her brothers left to join the Confederate Army and the battles came closer to home, her world was forever changed.

Jill wrote: "A Delta Diary - Amanda Worthington's Civil War Diary

by Troy (Woody) Woods (no photo)

Synopsis:

This is ..."

This looks really interesting!

Many years ago I went to a Civil War conference in Maryland which Alan Nolan attended. He was in very poor health, but I will always remember seeing him sitting there just two rows in front of me and thinking - - there is Alan Nolan! What an experience. Having lived in Illinois as well as Pennsylvania, I have been lucky to go to a few conferences and, of course, it was the Civil War that brought me to Gettysburg to live.

That's cool.
I was at Gettysburg for the 150th Anniversary and Jeff Shaara spoke. I've also have all of his books.

I will always remember his name because his was one of the first non-fiction books I read about the Civil War. Now, I've read dozens and and have over a hundred more to get to.

I just checked on the Internet and saw he did pass away in 2008. RIP Alan.

Betsy wrote: "Many years ago I went to a Civil War conference in Maryland which Alan Nolan attended. He was in very poor health, but I will always remember seeing him sitting there just two rows in front of me a..."

David we are delighted that you added so many wonderful books to the thread - remember to add the book cover, the word by - then the author's photo and then the author's link. If there is no photo - we add (no photo) at the end. I can see that you did a superb job of getting most of the elements. Here is what I am talking about - examples of HBC format:

by Rufus R. Dawes (no photo)

by Alan T. Nolan

In the case of the book which did not have a book cover added in goodreads - we add (no image) at the front and simply add the bobolink so that the blank icon is not showing. This book also did not have an author's photo - so we add (no photo) at the end.

(no image) Iron Brigade General: John Gibbon, A Rebel in Blue by Dennis S. Lavery (no photo)

by Jeffry D. Wert (no photo)

You did a terrific job and thank you for trying to get the format right. You had a few tough ones that were added so I thought I would give you some extra assistance.

Thank you again for your postings.

Hello JDR and thank you so much for your post - just a friendly reminder that we do not allow self promotion:

Nearly ten years ago, I became interested in the Civil War when I took a trip to Gettysburg. ......... I was also at the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, and was set up in the author tent. Jeff Shaara showed up for a few hours and set up right next to me. It was fun but, unfortunately, he stole everyone's thunder ...... He didn't talk to any of us, either, which was kind of weird. I have been to many reenactments, and I have to say that Gettysburg is my favorite.

JDR - Gettysburg is my favorite too - just as an aside I have reposted your post minus that areas noted. We delete all self promotion etc. This is nothing personal whatsoever and when mentioning an author we add the author's photo and link when these are available.

We do this so that the goodreads software populates the site and your comment is linked across our group site and even on goodreads.

Jeff Shaara

David wrote: "That's cool.
I was at Gettysburg for the 150th Anniversary and Jeff Shaara spoke. I've also have all of his books.

I will always remember his name because his was one of the first non-fiction book..."

David make sure to add the format for the author so that the goodreads software populates the site and your comment is linked.

Jeff Shaara

Bentley wrote: "Hello JDR and thank you so much for your post - just a friendly reminder that we do not allow self promotion:

Nearly ten years ago, I became interested in the Civil War when I took a trip to Getty..."

Bentley wrote: "David we are delighted that you added so many wonderful books to the thread - remember to add the book cover, the word by - then the author's photo and then the author's link. If there is no photo ..."

So sorry. If you want, you can add my photo! Thanks Bentley.

I did already to assist you and in the future then you would know - pretty easy and when you do this - you add to the white space on the right for starters so that each thread has its listings. These listings are cross referenced then across our group threads and goodreads.

I'll remember the book formatting in the future.

I've only just started contributing to posts on 카지노싸이트. I've also begun adding more book information when the books I have don't have complete info on this site, like book covers, etc.

I've picked up some obscure books over the years.

Thanks,

That is fine David - I have noticed that you have done a great job in some current posts and we are delighted to have you contributing. We are here to help you along the way.

On the Plantation

by Joel Chandler Harris

Synopsis:

The enduring fame of Joel Harris as a skillful storyteller had its beginning with the publication of the first of his enchanting Uncle Remus stories. These and other local color tales were written to sound as if they were being told to a group of small children on a winter night beside a blazing fireplace of a middle Georgia farmhouse. And ever since his stories first appeared in print, it has yet to be resolved who enjoys them the most--a child or the adult reading them aloud.

Mary Chesnut's Civil War

by C. Vann Woodward (no photo)

Synopsis:

An authorized account of the Civil War, for which editor C. Vann Woodward won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for History, drawn from the diaries of a Southern aristocrat, records the disintegration and final destruction of the Confederacy.