Books for the Civil War Buff in Your Life

Name: The Search for the Underground Railroad in Upstate New York
Brand: Tom Calarco
SKU: 9781626194205
Price: 15.39 USD
Availability: InStock

History runs deep in the American psyche, and the Civil War resonates still, 150+ years on. For those who love military history and grapple with the defining conflict of the American experience, our Civil War titles commemorate the impact on both sides, while telling the necessary stories of this epic conflict. From the First Shot at Fort Sumter, through Gettysburg, Sherman’s March and Antietam, there are more than 100 books which look at the Civil War from the local perspective of the people who lived it.

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The Search for the Underground Railroad in Upstate New York

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The Siege of Lexington, Missouri: The Battle of the Hemp Bales

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The Battle of Fort Donelson: No Terms but Unconditional Surrender

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The Battle of First Deep Bottom

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Mainers in the Civil War

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Arkansas Civil War Heritage:

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Boston Gentlemen's Mob, The

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Lexington, Virginia and the Civil War

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Connecticut Yankees at Antietam

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Facing Sherman in South Carolina

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Florida Civil War Blockades

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

New York's North Country and the Civil War

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

New Mexico and the Civil War

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

New Hampshire and the Civil War

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Murfreesboro in the Civil War

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

A Kansas Soldier at War: The Civil War Letters of Christian & Elise Dubach Isely

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Within Fort Sumter

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Civil War Ghosts of Sharpsburg

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

South Carolina in 1865

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

St. Louis Civil War Sites and the Fight for Freedom

$23.99 $16.79 Save 30%

The Civil War in Kansas: Ten Years of Turmoil

$19.99 $13.99 Save 30%

Civil War Charlotte

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Civil War Ghosts of North Georgia

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The Battle of Westport: Missouri's Great Confederate Raid

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Union Soldiers of Southwestern Illinois

$24.99

Mississippi Scoundrels

$24.99

Vicksburg National Cemetery

$24.99

Fort Mill

$16.99

The Battle of Waynesboro

$16.99

Unionists in Virginia

$16.99

Remembering Michigan's Civil War Soldiers

$16.99

Union-Occupied Maryland

$16.99

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The Search for the Underground Railroad in Upstate New York

9781626194205

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Because of its clandestine nature, much of the history of the Underground Railroad remains shrouded in secrecy--so much so that some historians have even doubted its importance. After decades of research, Tom Calarco recounts his experiences compiling evidence to give credence to the legend's oral history in upstate New York. As the Civil War loomed and politicians from the North and South debated the fate of slavery, brave New Yorkers risked their lives to help fugitive slaves escape bondage. Whites and blacks alike worked together on the Underground Railroad, using ingenious methods of communication and tactics to stay ahead of the slave master and bounty hunter. Especially after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, conscientious residents doubled their efforts to help runaways reach Canada. Join Calarco on this journey of discovery of one of the noblest endeavors in American history.

Stonewall Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign

9781596297937

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Virginia's Shenandoah Valley was known as the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy" due to its ample harvests and transportation centers, its role as an avenue of invasion into the North and its capacity to serve as a diversionary theater of war. The region became a magnet for both Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War, and nearly half of the thirteen major battles fought in the valley occurred as part of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's 1862 Valley Campaign. Civil War historian Jonathan A. Noyalas examines Jackson's Valley Campaign and how those victories brought hope to an infant Confederate nation, transformed the lives of the Shenandoah Valley's civilians and emerged as Stonewall Jackson's defining moment.

The Siege of Lexington, Missouri: The Battle of the Hemp Bales

9781626195363

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Following victories at Carthage and Wilson's Creek in the summer of 1861, the Confederate-allied Missouri State Guard achieved its greatest success when it advanced on Lexington in September. Former Missouri governor General Sterling Price and his men laid siege for three days against a Union garrison under the command of Colonel James Mulligan. An ingenious mobile breastwork of hemp bales soaked in water, designed to absorb hot shot, enabled the Confederates to close in on September 20 and force surrender. Civil War historian Larry Wood delivers a thorough account of the battle that briefly consolidated Confederate control in the region.

The Battle of Fort Donelson: No Terms but Unconditional Surrender

9781609491291

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

In February 1862, after defeats at Bull Run and at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, the Union army was desperate for victory on the eve of its first offensive of the Civil War. The strategy was to penetrate the Southern heartland with support from a new Brown Water"? navy. In a two-week campaign plagued by rising floodwaters and brutal winter weather, two armies collided in rural Tennessee to fight over two forts that controlled the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. Those intense days set the course of the war in the Western Theater for eighteen months and determined the fates of Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew H. Foote and Albert Sidney Johnston. Historian James R. Knight paints a picture of this crucial but often neglected and misunderstood turning point."

The Battle of First Deep Bottom

9781609495411

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

On July 26, 1864, Union general Winfield Scott Hancock's corps and three cavalry divisions under Philip H. Sheridan crossed to the north side of the James River at the Deep Bottom bridgehead. What was supposed to be a raid on Confederate railroads and possibly even a breakthrough to the Confederate capital of Richmond turned into a bloody skirmish. Richard H. Anderson's Confederate forces prevented a Union victory, but only at a great cost. Robert E. Lee was forced to move half his army from the key fortifications at Petersburg in response. Petersburg was all the more vulnerable for Grant's next move, the infamous Battle of the Crater. Including newly constructed maps from Steven Stanley and a foreword from fellow Civil War scholar Hampton Newsome, this title is the definitive account of an often-overlooked battle. Join author and historian James S. Price as he recounts a pivotal moment in the Petersburg Campaign and the close of the war.

Mainers in the Civil War

9781596299627

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Too far north, the great state of Maine did not witness any Civil War battles. However, Mainers contributed to the war in many important ways. From the mainland to the islands, soldiers bravely fought to preserve the United States in all major battles. Men like General Joshua Chamberlain, a hero of Little Round Top, proudly returned home to serve as governor. Maine native Hannibal Hamlin served as Abraham Lincoln's first vice president. And Maine's strong women sacrificed and struggled to maintain their communities and support the men who had left to fight. Author Harry Gratwick diligently documents the stories of these Mainers, who preserved "The Way Life Should Be" for Maine and the entire United States.

Arkansas Civil War Heritage:

9781626191921

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The American Civil War shaped the course of the country's history and its national identity. This is no less true for the state of Arkansas. Throughout the Natural State, people have paid homage and remembrance to those who fought and what was fought for in memorial celebrations and rituals. The memory of the war has been kept alive by reunions and preservationists, continuing to shape the way the War Between the States affects Arkansas and its people. Historian W. Stuart Towns expertly tells the story of Arkansas's Civil War heritage through its rituals of memorial, commemoration and celebration that continue today.

Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois

9781609493288

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Southwestern Illinois played a fierce and pivotal role in the national drama of a house divided against itself. St. Clair County sheltered Brooklyn, founded by freed and fugitive slaves and a vital link on the Underground Railroad. Alton was the home of Elijah Lovejoy, gunned down defending his press from an anti-abolitionist mob, as well as Lyman Trumbull, who wrote the Thirteenth Amendment. After the outbreak of war, Alton's prison was packed with thousands of Confederate captives, a smallpox epidemic and the cross-dressing double agent Mary Anne Pitman. John J. Dunphy continues the story of the Civil War and abolitionism beyond the Emancipation Proclamation and Appomattox, seeking out the enduring legacy those struggles left in his corner of Illinois.

Boston Gentlemen's Mob, The

9781467150910

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Violent mobs, racial unrest, attacks on the press--it's the fall of 1835 and the streets of Boston are filled with bankers, merchants and other "gentlemen of property and standing" angered by an emergent antislavery movement. They break up a women's abolitionist meeting and seize newspaper publisher William Lloyd Garrison. While city leaders stand by silently, a small group of women had the courage to speak out. Author Josh Cutler tells the story of the Gentlemen's Mob through the eyes of four key participants: antislavery reformer Maria Chapman; pioneering schoolteacher Susan Paul; the city's establishment mayor, Theodore Lyman; and Wendell Phillips, a young attorney who wanders out of his office to watch the spectacle. The day's events forever changed the course of the abolitionist movement.

Lexington, Virginia and the Civil War

9781609493912

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Jubilant at the outbreak of the Civil War and destitute in its aftermath, Lexington, Virginia, ultimately rose from the ashes to rebuild in the shadow of the conflict's legacy. It is the final resting place of two famous Confederate generals, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and the home of two of the South's most important war-era colleges, Washington College and the Virginia Military Institute. Author Richard G. Williams presents the trials and triumphs of Lexington during the war, including harrowing narratives of Union general Hunter's raid through the town, Lee's struggle between Union and state allegiances and Jackson's rise from professor to feared battlefield tactician.

Connecticut Yankees at Antietam

9781609499518

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Connecticut Yankees at Antietam honors the brave soldiers who fought in the single bloodiest battle of the Civil War.

September 17, 1862--The Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day of the Civil War. In the intense conflict and its aftermath across the farm fields and woodlots near the village of Sharpsburg, Maryland, more than two hundred men from Connecticut died. Their grave sites are scattered throughout the Nutmeg State, from Willington to Madison and Brooklyn to Bristol. Author John Banks chronicles their mostly forgotten stories using diaries, pension records and soldiers' letters. Learn of Henry Adams, a twenty-two-year-old private from East Windsor who lay incapacitated in the cornfield for nearly two days before he was found; Private Horace Lay of Hartford, who died with his wife by his side in a small church that served as a hospital after the battle; and Captain Frederick Barber of Manchester, who survived a field operation only to die days later. Discover the stories of these and many more brave Yankees who fought in the fields of Antietam.

Facing Sherman in South Carolina

9781609490157

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Major General William T. Sherman's march from Savannah, Georgia, to Columbia, South Carolina, was marked by a battle with an unrelenting enemy: the swamps of the Palmetto State. For more than two weeks, Sherman's veterans faced an unforgiving quagmire, coupled by daily skirmishes with gallant bands of outnumbered Confederates. Along the way, a ruined countryside and wrecked towns marked the path of an army unlike any "since the days of Julius Caesar." It would take an army as adept with the axe as they were with the rifle to tame the rivers, tributaries and swamps of the South Carolina Lowcountry. Join historian Chris Crabb as he traces the steps of Sherman's sixty-thousand-man army in its "amphibious march" from Beaufort to Columbia.

Florida Civil War Blockades

9781609493400

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Florida was the third Southern state to secede from the United States in 1860-61. With its small population of 140,000 and no manufacturing, few Confederate resources were allocated to protect the state. Some 15,000 Floridians served in the Union and Confederate armies (the highest population percentage of any southern state), but perhaps Florida's greatest contributions came from its production of salt (an essential need for preserving meat and manufacturing gunpowder), its large herds of cattle (which fed two southern armies), and its 1500 mile shoreline (which allowed smugglers to bring critical supplies from Europe and the Carribean). Florida in the Civil War: Blockaders will focus on the men and ships that fought this prolonged battle at sea, along the long and largely vacant coasts of the Sunshine State and on Florida soil. The information will be drawn from official sources, newspaper articles and private accounts. Approximately fifty (50) period photographs and drawings will be incorporated into the text.

New York's North Country and the Civil War

9781609496517

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Although Northern New York did not host any Civil War battles, it did not come out unscathed in the War Between the States. Brave soldiers fought in many major clashes, such as those of Jefferson County's Thirty-fifth New York Volunteer Regiment. Civilians struggled for the cause in their own way, with many active Underground Railroad stops across the region. The war's legacy lived on decades beyond the conflict through the many members of the Grand Army of the Republic, Harriet Tubman's home in Auburn and John Brown's burial place in North Elba. Author Dave Shampine compiles his most fascinating columns from the Watertown Daily Times to chronicle the role that New York's North Country played in the Civil War.

New Mexico and the Civil War

9781609491376

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Although the New Mexico Territory was far distant from the main theaters of war, it was engulfed in the same violence and bloodshed as the rest of the nation. The Civil War in New Mexico was fought in the deserts and mountains of the huge territory, which was mostly wilderness, amid the continuing ancient wars against the wild Indian tribes waged by both sides. The armies were small, but the stakes were high: control of the Southwest. Retired lieutenant colonel and Civil War historian Dr. Walter Earl Pittman presents this concise history of New Mexico during the Civil War years from the Confederate invasion of 1861 to the Battles of Valverde and Glorieta to the end of the war.

New Hampshire and the Civil War

9781609496289

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The Granite State has a remarkable record of service during the Civil War. It supplied a total of 10,657 recruits for the infantry, cavalry and field artillery divisions in 1861, with the majority of these first recruits enlisting for three years of service. Historian Bruce Heald lets the soldiers and sailors tell their stories in their own words by weaving together the letters to those left behind--families in Portsmouth and Nashua and sweethearts in Concord and Manchester. Heald includes brief introductions to each volunteer regiment, accounts of more than one hundred personal letters and an in-depth look at camp life. This book offers a personal and intimate connection with New Hampshire during the War Between the States through the voices of its heroic sons.

Murfreesboro in the Civil War

9781609494599

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

As the Civil War unfolded, Murfreesboro became hotly contested by Confederate and Union forces. Both sides occupied the town for significant periods, with power changing hands as the fighting raged. Punctuated by events like Nathan Bedford Forrest's raid on Union forces in July 1862, Jefferson Davis's visit and the wedding of General John Hunt Morgan and Martha Ready, wartime Murfreesboro saw no shortage of drama. As combat escalated, the bloody Battle of Stones River and the Nashville Campaign brought more destruction. Yet at war's end, the resilient locals remained and rebuilt their town from the rubble. Authors and Civil War historians Michael Bradley and Shirley Farris Jones track the tumult of the proceedings to recount the compelling story of Murfreesboro during the Civil War.

Civil War Graves of Northern Virginia

9781467124225

$24.99 $17.49 Save 30%

Many reminders of the Civil War were left behind in Northern Virginia for future generations to ponder. Also left behind were the graves of those who took part in the tumultuous events of war. Northern Virginia is a treasure house of history, perhaps more so than any other part of the country. One unique way of experiencing that history is by visiting one of the region's many historic cemeteries. Cemeteries have been called open-air museums, and every gravestone has a story to tell. There are some 1,000 cemeteries in Northern Virginia, ranging from small family plots to huge national cemeteries covering hundreds of acres. Many of these cemeteries contain the remains of Civil War veterans. This book is not meant to be an inclusive survey of every cemetery in the region, but rather it is a presentation of the Civil War history of Northern Virginia through the medium of cemeteries.

A Kansas Soldier at War: The Civil War Letters of Christian & Elise Dubach Isely

9781626190153

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

When war broke out in 1861, Christian and Elise Dubach Isely, soon to be married, found themselves in the midst of the conflict. Having witnessed the atrocities of Bleeding Kansas firsthand and fearful of what would come from this war, Christian enlisted with the 2nd Kansas Cavalry to fight alongside Union forces. During the next three years, the couple would write hundreds of letters to each other, as well as to friends and family members. Their writings survive today, providing a unique look at the Civil War--one of both military and civilian perspectives--in a passionate exchange between husband and wife in which the war, faith and family are discussed openly and frankly.

Within Fort Sumter

9780738594958

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

In December 1860, when the State of South Carolina desired to secede from the Federal Union, Major Anderson, of the 1st Regiment of U.S. Artillery, was in command of the forts of Charleston harbor; and, with his company, was stationed at Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's Island. He saw the spreading commotion; and--as a Sea-Captain, in stormy weather, glass in hand, sweeping the horizon with his eye, uninterested in natural wonders or scientific questions, is wholly engrossed with the care and management of his ship--he thought not of political affairs, but studied only his duty as a servant of the Republic--an officer of the American Army. Situated as he then was, he found himself utterly weak in case of an attack--his fort was insecure, his garrison was small--he, therefore, petitioned Government for more troops; but received for reply that, as the movement would increase disaffection, the Administration preferred not granting his request unless necessitated. He now looked round him, with a view to strengthening his position, as best he could. On a point of James Island, facing Fort Moultrie, west by south, stood Fort Johnson, and between these, nearly mid channel, an artificial Island had been raised, on which a fortification was built, now in course of completion; and here, with the waters to wall him in, and the shores all round the bay under range of his guns, Major Anderson decided to concentrate his little force.

Civil War Ghosts of Sharpsburg

9781626199248

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

In September 1862, fighting from the Battle of Antietam spilled into Sharpsburg's streets. Residents were left to bury the dead from both sides. Today, locals report lingering echoes of that strife, from the faint taps of a Union drummer boy named Charley King to the phantom footsteps of Confederate soldiers charging up the stairs of the Rohrbach House. Two spectral girls seen playing by the Big Spring in Children's Alley may be Savilla Miller and Theresa Kretzer, best friends torn apart by their divided loyalties. Tour guides Mark and Julia Brugh craft a vivid portrait of Sharpsburg in the Civil War and bring to light stories of the ghosts for whom the conflict never ended.

South Carolina in 1865

9781467151344

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The year 1865 brought an end to the war in America, but it also ended a civilization that had existed for nearly two centuries in South Carolina. Plantations, churches, farms, factories and whole villages and towns were pillaged and burned by General William T. Sherman's army, and a once thriving and wealthy state was reduced to poverty. While Columbia burned, besieging Union troops swept in and occupied the undefended city of Charleston, which Sherman called "a mere desolated wreck," and then launched raids into the surrounding countryside, including the rich plantation lands of Berkeley County. The surviving records of this period are numerous and revealing, and author Karen Stokes presents many of the eyewitness accounts and memoirs of those who lived through it.

St. Louis Civil War Sites and the Fight for Freedom

9781467152723

$23.99 $16.79 Save 30%

The Monuments of a Divided State

St. Louis was at the center of several key Civil War events from the Dred Scott decision through the Mississippi Campaign that cut the Confederate States in two. Visit the site from which enslaved people tried to cross the Mississippi River to the free state of Illinois. Discover how hundreds of lawsuits by enslaved people set the stage for the Dred Scott decision that lit the fuse to the Civil War. See the military base that produced over 200 Civil War generals and the arsenal that secessionists and unionists fought to control. Author Peter Downs goes behind the monuments and historic sites to explore the people, relationships and events that influenced the course of civil war in St. Louis and the nation.

The Civil War in Kansas: Ten Years of Turmoil

9781609495633

$19.99 $13.99 Save 30%

In the 1850s, the eyes of the world were on Kansas. The Civil War in Kansas will be an overview of the years 1854-1865, since the war began in Kansas nearly seven years before it spread to the rest of the nation. From the repeal of the Missouri Compromise to its entry in the Union, Kansas played a small role in the war as a whole, but its effects on the state were nonetheless important. With regards to the Kansas citizens who played a part, it would be an understatement to call them "colorful." From John Brown to Jim Lane, Kansans made headlines throughout the nation and the world. Bisel presents the history of Kansas during the Civil War years in an accessible way that will satisfy history buffs as well as enlighten novices.

Civil War Charlotte

9781609494803

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Though always an important North Carolina city, Charlotte truly helped to make history during the Civil War. The city's factories produced gunpowder, percussion caps, and medicine for the Confederate cause. Perhaps most importantly, Charlotte housed the Confederate Naval Ordnance Depot and Naval Works, manufacturing iron for ironclad vessels and artillery projectiles, and providing valuable ammunition for the South. Charlotte also sent over 2,500 men into the Confederate army, and played home to a military hospital, a Ladies Aid Society, a prison and even the mysterious Confederate gold. When Richmond fell, Jefferson Davis set up his headquarters in Charlotte, making it the unofficial capital. Join historian Michael C. Hardy as he recounts the triumphs and struggles of Queen City civilians and soldiers in the Civil War.

Civil War Ghosts of North Georgia

9781626191846

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Though Georgia was spared the hard hand of war for two years, combat arrived with a vengeance in September 1863 with the Battle of Chickamauga in north Georgia. It was the second-largest battle of the Civil War and has become one of America's most haunted battlefields, producing a long history of bizarre paranormal events that continue today. From Sherman's notorious march to Confederate general James Longstreet's continued inhabitance of his postwar home, Georgia is haunted by many of those who fought in America's deadliest war. Join author Jim Miles as he details the ghosts that still roam Georgia's Civil War battlefields, hospitals and antebellum homes.

The Battle of Westport: Missouri's Great Confederate Raid

9781609490065

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

The Battle of Westport, Missouri (today, part of Kansas City) was the largest Civil War battle west of the Mississippi. Troops from as far away as New Jersey and Pennsylvania (as well as Texas, Arkansas, Colorado and Iowa) took part in the hostilities. The battle was the climax of a desperate Confederate raid led by General Sterling Price proceeding from Arkansas across the State of Missouri to the Kansas border. The Union victory at Westport marked the end of major military operations in Missouri and secured Kansas and the trails, rails, and communication lines to the western states. Participants included future governors of both Kansas and Missouri, notorious post-war outlaws and many notable characters that would shape the growth and image of the western states. This project will tell the story of the place, the engagement, the people, and the importance of the Missouri/Kansas border war's greatest battle. The aftermath and legacy of the Battle of Westport will be presented in the broader context of westward expansion and give the reader a greater appreciation of how far-reaching the effects were of those few days in October, 1864.