100 Best Civil War Books of All Time (Updated for 2026)

1

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln

Doris Kearns Goodwin

5.0

Acclaimed historian Doris Kearns Goodwin illuminates Lincoln's political genius in this highly original work, as the one-term congressman and prairie lawyer rises from obscurity to prevail over three gifted rivals of national reputation to become president.

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Repub

Recommended by Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Kobe Bryant, and 8 others.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

The Oval office can be a lonely place, so reading about your forefather’s experience could only help. “The biographies have been useful, because I do think that there’s a tendency, understandable, to think that whatever’s going on right now is uniquely disastrous or amazing or difficult,” said President Obama in an interview. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

I loved Goodwin’s Team of Rivals and highly recommend this one too. [source]

Kobe Bryant

Basketball Player / LA Lakers

I loved Team of Rivals, and Leadership really built on the things I had taken away from that book. Moving from basketball to building a company, I needed to learn new and different leadership skills, and Goodwin outlines the different skill-sets of Lincoln, both Roosevelts, and Lyndon Johnson, accessibly. [source]

2

Battle Cry of Freedom

James M. McPherson

4.8

Filled with fresh interpretations and information, puncturing old myths and challenging new ones, Battle Cry of Freedom will unquestionably become the standard one-volume history of the Civil War.

James McPherson's fast-paced narrative fully integrates the political, social, and military events that crowded the two decades from the outbreak of one war in Mexico to the ending of another at Appomatt

3

The Killer Angels (The Civil War Trilogy, #2)

Michael Shaara

4.7

In the four most bloody and courageous days of our nation's history, two armies fought for two dreams. One dreamed of freedom, the other of a way of life. Far more than rifles and bullets were carried into battle. There were memories. There were promises. There was love. And far more than men fell on those Pennsylvania fields. Shattered futures, forgotten innocence, and crippled beauty were also t

4

Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell, Pat Conroy

4.7

An alternate cover for this ISBN can be found here.

Gone with the Wind is a novel written by Margaret Mitchell, first published in 1936. The story is set in Clayton County, Georgia, and Atlanta during the American Civil War and Reconstruction era. It depicts the struggles of young Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a well-to-do plantation owner, who must use every means at her disposal to cla

Recommended by Ted Turner, Annie Parker, and Kris Reid.

Ted Turner

Founder/CNN

I enjoyed "Gone with the Wind" and history books of all types. [source]

Annie Parker

@mariesornin @Twitter @goodreads @colinismyname @lonelyplanet @AmazonKindle @nytimestravel @TravelLeisure @Delta @BNBuzz Shantaram, The Beach, Round Ireland with a Fridge, and please read Gone with the Wind (not really a travel book but very awesome & needs a good chunk of time!) [source]

Kris Reid

I’m a hopeless romantic, Gone With the Wind is an epic love story based around a tale of an empowered woman struggling to success in a time of extreme adversity. There is a reason it’s a classic! [source]

5

Grant

Ron Chernow

4.6

Preview Summary

The #1 New York Times bestseller.

New York Times Book Review 10 Best Books of 2017

Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant.

Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman, or as the triumphant but brutal

Recommended by Bill Clinton and Jeremy Boudinet.

Bill Clinton

Former USA President

This is a good time for Ron Chernow’s fine biography of Ulysses S. Grant to appear… As history, it is remarkable, full of fascinating details sure to make it interesting both to those with the most cursory knowledge of Grant’s life and to those who have read his memoirs or any of several previous biographies… For all its scholarly and literary strengths, this book’s greatest service is to remind us of Grant’s significant achievements at the end of the war and after, which have too long been overlooked and are too important today to be left in the dark… As Americans continue the struggle to defend justice and equality in our tumultuous and divisive era, we need to know what Grant did when our country’s very existence hung in the balance. If we still believe in forming a more perfect union, his steady and courageous example is more valuable than ever. [source]

Jeremy Boudinet

I read Ron Chernow's biography of Ulysses S. Grant at a crucial point in my life, when I was struggling with a few personal and professional career ups-and-downs. Grant is a fascinating character in U.S. history. His life was a dramatic roller coaster of major personal and professional triumphs that were inevitably followed by periods of massive failure and disappointment. Of course, all of this led up to his historic date with destiny as the winning General the U.S. desperately needed during the Civil War. An important takeaway from Grant's story is his primary character virtue - a stoic determination that ultimately carried him through periods of disenchantment and brought the Union victory in the Civil War. There's a lesson in there for all of us fighting in the trenches of business - we'll inevitably face some of the same ups-and-downs that Grant did. And we should aim to carry ourselves like he did. [source]

6

The Civil War Trilogy with American Homer: Reflections on Shelby Foote

Shelby Foote and Jon Meacham

4.5

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Modern Library publishes Shelby Foote’s three-volume masterpiece in a new boxed set including three hardcovers and a new trade paperback, American Homer: Reflections on Shelby Foote and His Classic Civil War: A Narrative, edited by and with an introduc

7

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

4.5

A beautiful unabridged 150th Anniversary Edition with 200 original illustrations and a Foreword by Alice L. George entitled "Why Little Women Endures 150 Years Later."

Little Women was originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. This edition contains both volumes. It follows the lives of the four March sisters--Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy-- from childhood to womanhood and is loosely based on th

Recommended by Amy Chua, Anne Thériault, Jay Kleinberg, and 1 others.

Amy Chua

Marmee is a character that really resonates for me. She’s obviously not Chinese, but she believes that integrity and hard work are the most important things in life. She holds her daughters to very high standards. She doesn’t sugarcoat much. She also reveals to her rebellious daughter Jo, the star of the book and a character loosely modeled on Louisa May Alcott herself, that she had a bad temper too when she was younger. That’s exactly what I did with my own daughter Louisa…….The kinds of mistakes that Marmee allows her daughters to make are very similar to the kinds of mistakes that I allow my daughters to make. [source]

Anne Thériault

@mmarmoset I love that book so much, and then I got to see Patty Smith perform the year I read it, and she made a Little Women reference during the show, and my heart overflowed [source]

Jay Kleinberg

Nancy Drew is another series which follows in those footsteps. The book is all led by her. I think if one looks in the magazine literature it would be hard to find a similar character at that time. These were stories initially published in a magazine and then bound together as a book. [source]

8

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War

Tony Horwitz

4.5

When prize-winning war correspondent Tony Horwitz leaves the battlefields of Bosnia and the Middle East for a peaceful corner of the Blue Ridge Mountains, he thinks he's put war zones behind him. But awakened one morning by the crackle of musket fire, Horwitz starts filing front-line dispatches again this time from a war close to home, and to his own heart.

Propelled by his boyhood passion for the

Recommended by Robert Maguire.

Robert Maguire

Please take this sad news as an opportunity to read, or re-read, Confederates in the Attic. It is a remarkable book that is sadly still very relevant 20 years later https://t.co/zAyPfq8xBK [source]

9

Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age

Modris Eksteins

4.5

A rare and remarkable cultural history of World War I that unearths the roots of modernism

Dazzling in its originality, Rites of Spring probes the origins, impact, and aftermath of World War I, from the premiere of Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring in 1913, to the death of Hitler in 1945. Recognizing that The Great War was the psychological turning point . . . for modernism as a whole, autho

Recommended by Brent Glass, John Cusack, and Jonathan Boff.

Brent Glass

What the Civil War was about was mass killing on a scale that we had never ever dreamed of. [source]

John Cusack

Great book ⬇️ RT @PuddockII: Wow. https://t.co/EF6Iyc0Kmc [source]

Jonathan Boff

What this book does is it views the war as a cultural phenomenon, rather than a military phenomenon. Eksteins is a cultural historian who thinks in terms of literature, music, plastic arts, and so on. [source]

10

Cold Mountain

Charles Frazier

4.4

Cold Mountain is a novel about a soldier’s perilous journey back to his beloved near the Civil War's end. At once a love story & a harrowing account of one man’s long walk home, Cold Mountain introduces a new talent in American literature.

Based on local history & family stories passed down by Frazier’s great-great-grandfather, Cold Mountain is the tale of a wounded Confederate soldier, Inman, who

Recommended by Bryan Callen.

Bryan Callen

So here are my three must read books. I've been reading a lot of great books like: Outsmart Your Instincts, The Culture Code, and Antonio Damasio’s The Strange Order, and sometimes when you read a lot of nonfiction it’s very enriching, sometimes you need a novel. I really believe you should take a minute and read something beautiful. Listen, listen to Lolita by Nabokov. But also listen to Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy and listen to Richard Poe narrate that. Those are two of the greatest feats of the english language that I can think of. Then there’s Fortress of Solitude, an amazing book, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, these are great novels. Cold Mountain is a beautiful novel, Snow Falling On Cedars, I mean they’ve been around for a while. But goddamnit, get those under your belt. Those are the novels I think you should read. You know Love In The Time Of Cholera it just makes you ache. Kind of like a Hemingway thing, where Hemingway “ahh!”, it’s the same thing, you know. So I don’t know, I’m a fan of all those books. Those are my 3 slash 20 books. [source]

11

Gods and Generals (The Civil War Trilogy, #1)

Jeff Shaara

4.4

In a prequel of sorts to his father Michael Shaara's 1974 epic novel The Killer Angels, Jeff Shaara explores the lives of Generals Lee, Hancock, Jackson and Chamberlain as the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg approaches.

Shaara captures the disillusionment of both Lee and Hancock early in their careers, Lee's conflict with loyalty, Jackson's overwhelming Christian ethic and Chamberlain's total lack of

12

Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson

S. C. Gwynne

4.4

Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the epic New York Times bestselling account of how Civil War general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson became a great and tragic national hero.

Stonewall Jackson has long been a figure of legend and romance. As much as any person in the Confederate pantheon—even Robert E. Lee—he embodies the romantic Southern notion of the virtuous lost cause. Jackson i

Recommended by Ryan Holiday.

Ryan Holiday

Author

Related and with equal weight, I want to recommend George B. McClellan: The Young Napoleon by Stephen W. Sears (a biography of the talented but utterly delusional General George McClellan), Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne (a biography of the brilliant but manic Stonewall Jackson) and Ron Chernow’s Alexander Hamilton (an equally brilliant, more accomplished but equally tragic founding father). All these books made me angry, sad, and confused. But they also made me look inward and taught me quite a bit. [source]

13

The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian

Shelby Foote

4.4

A narrative history of the American Civil War, which covers not only the battles and the troop movements but also the social background that brought on the war and led, in the end, to the South's defeat.

14

The Last Full Measure (The Civil War Trilogy, #3)

Jeff Shaara

4.4

In the Pulitzer prize-winning classic The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara created the finest Civil War novel of our time. In the bestselling Gods and Generals, Shaara's son, Jeff, brilliantly sustained his father's vision, telling the epic story of the events culminating in the Battle of Gettysburg. Now, Jeff Shaara brings this legendary father-son trilogy to its stunning conclusion in a novel tha

15

The Red Badge of Courage

Stephen Crane

4.3

Henry Fleming has joined the Union army because of his romantic ideas of military life, but soon finds himself in the middle of a battle against a regiment of Confederate soldiers. Terrified, Henry deserts his comrades. Upon returning to his regiment, he struggles with his shame as he tries to redeem himself and prove his courage.

The Red Badge of Courage is Stephen Crane’s second book, notable for

Cover unavailable

16

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

James L. Swanson

4.3

A fascinating tale of murder, intrigue, and betrayal. A gripping hour-by-hour account told through the eyes of the hunted and the hunters, this is history as you've never read it before.

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history -- the pursuit and capture of John Wilkes Booth. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin led Union cavalry and detectives on a wi

17

A Stillness at Appomattox

Bruce Catton

4.3

When first published in 1953, Bruce Catton, our foremost Civil War historian was awarded both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for excellence in nonfiction. This final volume of The Army of the Potomac trilogy relates the final year of the Civil War.

Recommended by Ryan Holiday.

Ryan Holiday

Author

This year I loved Bruce Catton’s This Hallowed Ground: A History of the Civil War and A Stillness at Appomattox. If you want to understand the Civil War and you want to see one of the greatest non-fiction writing ever, read Catton. [source]

Cover unavailable

18

Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever (The Killing of Historical Figures)

Bill O'Reilly

4.3

A riveting historical narrative of the heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the first work of history from mega-bestselling author Bill O'Reilly

The anchor of The O'Reilly Factor recounts one of the most dramatic stories in American history—how one gunshot changed the country forever. In the spring of 1865, the bloody saga of America's Civil War finally come

19

April 1865: The Month That Saved America

Jay Winik

4.3

One month in 1865 witnessed the frenzied fall of Richmond, a daring last-ditch Southern plan for guerrilla warfare, Lee's harrowing retreat, and then, Appomattox. It saw Lincoln's assassination just five days later and a near-successful plot to decapitate the Union government, followed by chaos and coup fears in the North, collapsed negotiations and continued bloodshed in the South, and finally, t

20

March

Geraldine Brooks

4.3

Winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

From the author of the acclaimed Year of Wonders, a historical novel and love story set during a time of catastrophe, on the front lines of the American Civil War. Acclaimed author Geraldine Brooks gives us the story of the absent father from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women—and conjures a world of brutality, stubborn courage and transcendent love. An

21

Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam

Stephen W. Sears

4.3

Combining brilliant military analysis with rich narrative history, Landscape Turned Red is the definitive work on the Battle of Antietam.

The Civil War battle waged on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek, Maryland, was one of the bloodiest in the nation's history: on this single day, the war claimed nearly 23,000 casualties. Here renowned historian Stephen Sears draws on a remarkable cache of dia

22

Gettysburg

Stephen W. Sears

4.3

A masterful, single-volume history of the Civil War's greatest campaign.

Drawing on original source material, from soldiers' letters to official military records of the war, Stephen W. Sears's Gettysburg is a remarkable and dramatic account of the legendary campaign. He takes particular care in his study of the battle's leaders and offers detailed analyses of their strategies and tactics, depictin

23

North and South (North and South, #1)

John Jakes

4.3

Part history, part novel, this book chronicles two great American dynasties over three generations. Though brought together in a friendship that neither jealousy nor violence could shatter, the Hazards and the Mains are torn apart by the storm of events that has divided the nation.

24

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War

Karen Abbott

4.3

Karen Abbott, the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and “pioneer of sizzle history” (USA Today), tells the spellbinding true story of four women who risked everything to become spies during the Civil War.

Karen Abbott illuminates one of the most fascinating yet little known aspects of the Civil War: the stories of four courageous women—a socialite, a farmgirl, an abolition

25

1861: The Civil War Awakening

Adam Goodheart

4.2

As the United States marks the 150th anniversary of our defining national drama, 1861 presents a gripping and original account of how the Civil War began.

1861 is an epic of courage and heroism beyond the battlefields. Early in that fateful year, a second American revolution unfolded, inspiring a new generation to reject their parents’ faith in compromise and appeasement, to do the unthinkable in t

26

My Name is Mary Sutter (Mary Sutter, #1)

Robin Oliveira

4.2

A New York Times bestseller and a moving Civil War novel about a young midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon.

Fans of Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, and Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker by Jennifer Chiaverini will love this New York Times bestselling tale of the Civil War. Mary Sutter is a brilliant young midwife who dreams of becoming a surgeon. Eager to run a

27

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe

4.2

Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly, is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War," according to Will Kaufman. Stowe, a Connecticut-born teacher at the Hartford Female Seminary and an active abolitionist, featured the character of Uncle Tom, a long-suffering black slave around whom the stories o

Recommended by Ezra Levant and George Raveling.

Ezra Levant

Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the best books I ever read. Abraham Lincoln said to its author, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war." It's alternatively heartbreaking and laugh out loud funny. But Greg Fergus thinks it's an instruction manual. https://t.co/K53AJsQnKK [source]

George Raveling

I actually have a first edition of this book. [source]

28

The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville

Shelby Foote

4.2

This first volume of Shelby Foote’s classic narrative of the Civil War opens with Jefferson Davis’s farewell to the United States Senate and ends on the bloody battlefields of Antietam and Perryville, as the full, horrible scope of America’s great war becomes clear. Exhaustively researched and masterfully written, Foote’s epic account of the Civil War unfolds like a novel.

“A stunning book full of

29

The Coming Fury

Bruce Catton

4.2

A thrilling, page-turning piece of writing that describes the forces conspiring to tear apart the United States--with the disintegrating political processes and rising tempers finally erupting at Bull Run. "...a major work by a major writer, a superb re-creation of the twelve crucial months that opened the Civil War."--The New York Times.

30

Lincoln

David Herbert Donald

4.2

A masterful work by Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Herbert Donald, Lincoln is a stunning portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s life and presidency.

Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln’s gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever-expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating th

31

The Widow of the South

Robert Hicks

4.2

Tennessee, 1864. On a late autumn day, near a little town called Franklin, 10,000 men will soon lie dead or dying in a battle that will change many lives for ever. None will be more changed than Carrie McGavock, who finds her home taken over by the Confederate army and turned into a field hospital. Taking charge, she finds the courage to face up to the horrors around her and, in doing so, finds a

32

Gettysburg: The Last Invasion

Allen C. Guelzo

4.2

From the acclaimed Civil War historian, and coinciding with the 150th anniversary of the legendary battle: a brilliant new history—the most intimate and richly readable account we have had—that draws the reader into the muck and grime of Gettysburg alongside the ordinary soldier, and depicts, as never before, the combination of personalities and circumstances that produced one of the great battles

33

A Blaze of Glory (Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater, #1)

Jeff Shaara

4.2

In the first novel of a spellbinding new trilogy, New York Times bestselling author Jeff Shaara returns to the Civil War terrain he knows best. A Blaze of Glory takes us to the action-packed Western Theater for a vivid re-creation of one of the war’s bloodiest and most iconic engagements—the Battle of Shiloh.

It’s the spring of 1862. The Confederate Army in the West teeters on the brink of collaps

34

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

David W. Blight

4.2

As a young man, Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with dignity and great intelligence he bore witness to the brutality of slavery.

Initially mentored by William

Recommended by Barack Obama, Brian Lyman, and Eddie S. Glaude Jr..

Barack Obama

Former USA President

As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors – some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list. [source]

Brian Lyman

So yeah, that book is superb. Douglass has been an Admirable Icon for so long that the human being is often lost. I appreciated Bright showing the great achievements next to his daily pleasures and struggles. Also, I didn’t know how funny Douglass could be. [source]

Eddie S. Glaude Jr.

I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. David Blight is brilliant and his new book is absolutely amazing. Check it out. https://t.co/kRbrlHKQrN [source]

35

Lincoln

Gore Vidal

4.2

Gore Vidal's Narratives of Empire series spans the history of the United States from the Revolution to the post-World War II years. With their broad canvas and large cast of fictional and historical characters, the novels in this series present a panorama of the American political and imperial experience as interpreted by one of its most worldly, knowing, and ironic observers.

To most Americans, Ab

Recommended by David Sabatini.

David Sabatini

I tend to like historical fiction, so some of the books I’ve liked a lot and given to others have been Gore Vidal books. Like this one. [source]

36

The Civil War: The complete text of the bestselling narrative history of the Civil War--based on the celebrated PBS television series

Geoffrey C. Ward

4.2

"The Civil War defined us as what we are and it opened us to being what we became, good and bad things.... It was the crossroads of our being, and it was a hell of a crossroads: the suffering, the enormous tragedy of the whole thing."- Shelby Foote, from The Civil War

When the illustrated edition of The Civil War was first published, The New York Time hailed it as "a treasure for the eye and mind.

37

Glory Road

Bruce Catton

4.2

Volume II of The Army of the Potomac
The critical months between the autumn of 1862 and midsummer 1863 is the focus of Glory Road. During this time the outcome of the Civil War is determined, as the battles at Fredericksburg, Rappahannock and Chancellorsville set the state for Union victory as Gettysburg.

38

Shiloh

Shelby Foote

4.2

This fictional re-creation of the battle of Shiloh in April 1862 fulfills the standard set by his monumental history, conveying both the bloody choreography of two armies and the movements of the combatants' hearts and minds.

39

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

4.2

An alternate cover edition of this ISBN can be found here.

Former slave, impassioned abolitionist, brilliant writer, newspaper editor and eloquent orator whose speeches fired the abolitionist cause, Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) led an astounding life. Physical abuse, deprivation and tragedy plagued his early years, yet through sheer force of character he was able to overcome these obstacles to be

Recommended by Bianca Belair.

Bianca Belair

For #BlackHistoryMonth I will be sharing some of my favorite books by Black Authors 6th Book: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass By: Frederick Douglass The 1st of many autobiographies that he wrote, and another classic you will find on almost every must-read A.A list. https://t.co/v5PgGpoqxQ [source]

40

Love and War (North and South, #2)

John Jakes

4.2

The Hazards and the Mains -- the first fatal shot fired at Fort Sumter divided them irrevocably with loyalties more powerful than family ties. The young would clash on the bloody battlefields of Bull Run and Fredericksburg, while in intrigue-ridden Washington and Richmond strong-willed men and beautiful women would defend their principles with their lives...or satisfy illicit cravings with schemes

Recommended by Jim Collins.

41

The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

4.2

General Grant's personal memoirs are a must read for all Civil War buffs and those even remotely interested in history. This book, which includes both Volume I and II, articulately spells out the military career of one of the United States' greatest generals. Grant's memoirs are well-written, thoughtful, insightful, and offer more than a glimpse into the mind of U.S. Grant. Volume I opens with a h

42

Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War

Sam R. Watkins

4.2

A classic Civil War memoir, Co. Aytch is the work of a natural storyteller who balances the horror of war with an irrepressible sense of humor and a sharp eye for the lighter side of battle. It is a testament to one man’s enduring humanity, courage, and wisdom in the midst of death and destruction.

Early in May 1861, twenty-one-year-old Sam R. Watkins of Columbia, Tennessee, joined the First Tennes

43

Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief

James M. McPherson

4.2

Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief, by McPherson, James M.

44

Chancellorsville

Stephen W. Sears

4.2

Sears describes the series of controversial events that define this crucial battle, including General Robert E. Lee's radical decision to divide his small army - a violation of basic military rules - sending Stonewall Jackson on his famous march around the Union army flank. Jackson's death - accidentally shot by one of his own soldiers - is one of the many fascinating stories included in this defi

45

The March

E.L. Doctorow

4.2

In 1864, Union general William Tecumseh Sherman marched his sixty thousand troops through Georgia to the sea, and then up into the Carolinas. The army fought off Confederate forces, demolished cities, and accumulated a borne-along population of freed blacks and white refugees until all that remained was the dangerous transient life of the dispossessed and the triumphant. In E. L. Doctorow’s hands

46

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War

Tony Horwitz

4.2

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011
A Library Journal Top Ten Best Books of 2011
A Boston Globe Best Nonfiction Book of 2011

Bestselling author Tony Horwitz tells the electrifying tale of the daring insurrection that put America on the path to bloody war

Plotted in secret, launched in the dark, John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry was a pivotal moment in U.S. history. But few Americans know the true

47

The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery

Eric Foner

4.2

From a master historian, the story of Lincoln's—and the nation's—transformation through the crucible of slavery and emancipation.

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize, and the Lincoln Prize

In this landmark work of deep scholarship and insight, Eric Foner gives us the definitive history of Lincoln and the end of slavery in America. Foner begins with Lincoln's youth in Indiana and Illinoi

48

Lincoln in the Bardo

George Saunders

4.1

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE

The long-awaited first novel from the author of Tenth of December a moving and original father-son story featuring none other than Abraham Lincoln, as well as an unforgettable cast of supporting characters, living and dead, historical and invented

Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by The Washington Post, USA Today, and Maure

Recommended by Bill Gates.

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

I thought I knew everything I needed to know about Abraham Lincoln, but this novel made me rethink parts of his life. It blends historical facts from the Civil War with fantastical elements—it’s basically a long conversation among 166 ghosts, including Lincoln’s deceased son. I got new insight into the way Lincoln must have been crushed by the weight of both grief and responsibility. This is one of those fascinating, ambiguous books you’ll want to discuss with a friend when you’re done. [source]

49

Terrible Swift Sword: The Centennial History of the Civil War Series, Volume 2

Bruce Catton

4.1

The second episode in this award-winning trilogy impressively shows how the Union and Confederacy, slowly and inexorably, reconciled themselves to an all-out war—an epic struggle for freedom.

In Terrible Swift Sword, Bruce Catton tells the story of the Civil War as never before—of two turning points which changed the scope and meaning of the war. First, he describes how the war slowly but steadily

50

Never Call Retreat

Bruce Catton

4.1

The final volume of Bruce Catton's monumental Centennial History of the Civil War traces the war from Fredericksburg through the succeeding grim and relentless campaigns to the Courthouse at Appomattox and the death of Lincoln.

This is an eloquent study of the bitterest years of the war when death slashed the country with a brutality unparalleled in the history of the United States. Through the kal

51

Andersonville

MacKinlay Kantor

4.1

The 1956 Pulitzer Prize-winning story of the Andersonville Fortress and its use as a concentration camp-like prison by the South during the Civil War.

52

A Chain of Thunder (Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater, #2)

Jeff Shaara

4.1

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Continuing the series that began with A Blaze of Glory, Jeff Shaara returns to chronicle another decisive chapter in America’s long and bloody Civil War. In A Chain of Thunder, the action shifts to the fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. There, in the vaunted “Gibraltar of the Confederacy,” a siege for the ages will cement the reputation of one Union general—and all b

53

The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace

H.W. Brands

4.1

From New York Times bestselling author H. W. Brands, a masterful biography of the Civil War general and two-term president who saved the Union twice, on the battlefield and in the White House, holding the country together at two critical turning points in our history.

Ulysses Grant rose from obscurity to discover he had a genius for battle, and he propelled the Union to victory in the Civil War. Af

54

The Civil War (American Heritage)

Bruce Catton

4.1

Infinitely readable and absorbing, Bruce Catton’s The Civil War is one of the most widely read general histories of the war available in a single volume.

Introduced by the critically acclaimed Civil War historian James M. McPherson, The Civil War vividly traces one of the most moving chapters in American history, from the early division between the North and the South to the final surrender of Conf

55

Mr. Lincoln's Army

Bruce Catton

4.1

56

The Underground Railroad

Colson Whitehead

4.1

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood—where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned—Cora kills a youn

Recommended by Barack Obama, Bogdana Butnar, and Joshua M. Brown.

Barack Obama

Former USA President

Just like us, the president enjoys a good beach read while relaxing in the sun. In 2016, he released his list of summer vacation books: Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, William Finnegan H Is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins Seveneves, Neal Stephenson The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead [source]

Bogdana Butnar

Currently reading two things: one is The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead, which is a Man Booker nominee, and to be very honest, I'm just reading this because it's really good so my expectation is to just get the sheer satisfaction of a good piece of fiction. [source]

Joshua M. Brown

Chicago Tribune called @colsonwhitehead “the best living American novelist.” Really blown away by the writing in this, first book of his I’ve read. https://t.co/ePhD64ZPR5 [source]

57

Across Five Aprils

Irene Hunt

4.1

The Newbery Award winning author of Up a Road Slowly presents the unforgettable story of Jethro Creighton—a brave boy who comes of age during the turbulent years of the Civil War.

58

Pink and Say

Patricia Polacco

4.1

There are few picture books written about the Civil War, and none are as powerful as this one. This story, about how a young black soldier rescues a white soldier, opens young readers' eyes to the injustices of slavery and the senselessness of war. Highly charged emotionally, this masterful retelling of a true story is seen through the white soldier's eyes.

59

The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 3: Red River to Appomattox

Shelby Foote

4.1

A stunning literary and historical achievement, the three volumes of Shelby Foote’s The Civil War vividly bring to life the four years of torment and strife that altered American life forever. Presented in a handsome boxed set, these three beautifully bound hardcovers are an essential addition to every American history collection.

Taking the reader from the drama of Jefferson Davis’s resignation f

60

Grant and Sherman: The Friendship That Won the Civil War

Charles Bracelen Flood

4.1

They were both prewar failures—Grant, forced to resign from the Regular Army because of his drinking, and Sherman, holding four different jobs, including a much-loved position at a southern military academy—in the years before the firing on Fort Sumter. They began their unique collaboration ten months into the war, at the Battle of Shiloh, each carefully taking the other's measure. They shared the

61

I Shall Be Near to You

Erin Lindsay Mccab

4.1

An extraordinary novel about a strong-willed woman who disguises herself as a man in order to fight beside her husband in the Civil War, inspired by a real female soldier's letters home
Rosetta doesn't want her new husband Jeremiah to enlist, but he joins up, hoping to make enough money that they'll be able to afford their own farm someday. Though she's always worked by her father’s side as the so

62

To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign

Stephen W. Sears

4.1

This is a history of the largest and bloodiest campaign of the American Civil War - one in which a quarter of a million men fought, and one in four died.

63

American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant

Ronald C. White

4.1

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - From the author of A. Lincoln, a major new biography of one of America's greatest generals--and most misunderstood presidents

Finalist for the Gilder-Lehrman Military History Book Prize

In his time, Ulysses S. Grant was routinely grouped with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln in the "Trinity of Great American Leaders." But the battlefield commander-turned-commander-i

64

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg

James M. McPherson

4.1

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg (Crown Journeys)

65

Candle in the Darkness (Refiner's Fire, #1)

Lynn Austin

4.1

The daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family from Richmond, Virginia, Caroline Fletcher is raised in a culture that believes slavery is God-ordained and biblically acceptable. But upon awakening to the cruelty and injustice it encompasses, Caroline's eyes are opened for the first time to the men and women who have cared tirelessly for her. Her journey of maturity and faith will draw her into the

66

Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863

Shelby Foote

4.1

Historian/novelist Foote's masterly work has been culled from his critically acclaimed three-volume narrative of the Civil War.

67

The Fateful Lightning: A Novel of the Civil War (Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater, #4)

Jeff Shaara

4.1

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

From Jeff Shaara comes the riveting final installment in the Civil War series that began with A Blaze of Glory and continued in A Chain of Thunder and The Smoke at Dawn.

November 1864: As the Civil War rolls into its fourth bloody year, the tide has turned decidedly in favor of the Union. A grateful Abraham Lincoln responds to Ulysses S. Grant’s successes by bringing the g

68

Grant

Jean Edward Smith

4.1

Ulysses S. Grant was the first four-star general in the history of the United States Army and the only president between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson to serve eight consecutive years in the White House. As general in chief, Grant revolutionized modern warfare. As president, he brought stability to the country after years of war and upheaval. Yet today Grant is remembered as a brilliant genera

69

Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America

Garry Wills

4.1

In a masterly work, Garry Wills shows how Lincoln reached back to the Declaration of Independence to write the greatest speech in the nation’s history.

The power of words has rarely been given a more compelling demonstration than in the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln was asked to memorialize the gruesome battle. Instead he gave the whole nation “a new birth of freedom” in the space of a mere 272 words

70

For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War

James M. McPherson

4.0

General John A. Wickham, commander of the famous 101st Airborne Division in the 1970s and subsequently Army Chief of Staff, once visited Antietam battlefield. Gazing at Bloody Lane where, in 1862, several Union assaults were brutally repulsed before they finally broke through, he marveled, "You couldn't get American soldiers today to make an attack like that." Why did those men risk certain death,

71

Grant Takes Command 1863-1865

Bruce Catton

4.0

A detailed and intimate portrait of U. S. Grant from this Pulitzer Prize winning historian reveals why Lincoln knew he was the one general who could win the war. This exhaustively researched biography gives us a new understanding of the man, the growing strength of his character, and the great war itself.

72

Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command

Douglas Southall Freeman, Stephen W. Sears, James M. McPherson

4.0

Lee's Lieutenants: A Study in Command is the most colorful and popular of Douglas Southall Freeman's works. A sweeping narrative that presents a multiple biography against the flame-shot background of the American Civil War, it is the story of the great figures of the Army of Northern Virginia who fought under Robert E. Lee.

The Confederacy won resounding victories throughout the war, but seldom ea

73

General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier

Jeffry D. Wert

4.0

General James Longstreet fought in nearly every campaign of the Civil War, from Manassas (the first battle of Bull Run) to Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, Gettysburg, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox. Yet, he was largely held to blame for the Confederacy's defeat at Gettysburg. General James Longstreet sheds new light on the controversial commander and the man Robert E. Lee ca

74

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker

Jennifer Chiaverini

4.0

In Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker, novelist Jennifer Chiaverini presents a stunning account of the friendship that blossomed between Mary Todd Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Keckley, a former slave who gained her professional reputation in Washington, D.C. by outfitting the city’s elite. Keckley made history by sewing for First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln within the White House, a trusted wi

75

The Fall of the House of Dixie: The Civil War and the Social Revolution That Transformed the South

Bruce Levine

4.0

In this major new history of the Civil War, Bruce Levine tells the riveting story of how that conflict upended the economic, political, and social life of the old South, utterly destroying the Confederacy and the society it represented and defended. Told through the words of the people who lived it, The Fall of the House of Dixie illuminates the way a war undertaken to preserve the status quo beca

76

The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777

Rick Atkinson

4.0

In the initial volume of the Revolution Trilogy Rick Atkinson recounts the first twenty-one months of America’s violent war for independence. From the battles at Lexington and Concord in spring 1775 to those at Trenton and Princeton in winter 1777, American militiamen and then the ragged Continental Army take on the world’s most formidable fighting force. It is a saga alive with astonishing charac

Recommended by Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon

@DEdHoggatt Great response, and congratulations! You've been selected to win Rick Atkinson's new book, 'The British Are Coming!' Please DM us to claim your prize, and thank you for participating in our contest! [source]

77

A. Lincoln

Ronald C. White Jr.

4.0

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Washington Post • The Philadelphia Inquirer • The Christian Science Monitor • St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

WINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER AWARD

Everyone wants to define the man who signed his name “A. Lincoln.” In his lifetime and ever since, friend and foe have taken it upon themselves to characterize Lincoln according to their own labe

78

Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee

Michael Korda

4.0

New York Times bestselling author Michael Korda's fresh, contemporary single volume historical biography of General Robert E. Lee—perhaps the most famous and least understood legend in American history and one of our most admired heroes.

Michael Korda, author of Ulysses S. Grant and the bestsellers Ike and Hero, paints a vivid and admiring portrait of Lee as a brilliant general, a devoted family ma

79

The Civil War Trilogy: Gods and Generals / The Killer Angels / The Last Full Measure

Michael Shaara and Jeff Shaara

4.0

Michael Shaara reinvented the war novel with his Pulitzer Prize–winning masterpiece of Gettysburg, The Killer Angels. Jeff Shaara continued his father’s legacy with a series of centuries-spanning New York Times bestsellers. This volume assembles three Civil War novels from America’s first family of military fiction: Gods and Generals, The Killer Angels, and The Last Full Measure.

Gods and Generals

80

The Immortal Irishman: The Irish Revolutionary Who Became an American Hero

Timothy Egan

4.0

National Book Award winner Timothy Egan delivers a story of one of the most famous Irish Americans of all time. A dashing young orator during the Great Hunger of the 1840s, Thomas Francis Meagher led a failed uprising against British rule, for which he was banished to a Tasmanian prison colony for life. But two years later he was “back from the dead” and in New York, instantly the most famous Iris

81

Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam: The Battle that Changed the Course of the Civil War

James M. McPherson

4.0

The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, was the bloodiest single day in American history, with more than 6,000 soldiers killed--four times the number lost on D-Day, and twice the number killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks. In Crossroads of Freedom, America's most eminent Civil War historian, James M. McPherson, paints a masterful account of this pivotal battle, the events

82

A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War

Amanda Foreman

4.0

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

10 BEST BOOKS • THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW • 2011

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY
The Washington Post • The New Yorker • Chicago Tribune • The Economist • Nancy Pearl, NPR • Bloomberg.com • Library Journal • Publishers Weekly

Acclaimed historian Amanda Foreman follows the phenomenal success of her New York Times bestseller Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire with

83

Heaven and Hell (North and South, #3)

John Jakes, Grover Gardner, et al

4.0

The last days of the Civil War bring no peace for the Main and Hazard families. As the Mains’ South smolders in the ruins of defeat, the Hazards’ North pushes blindly for relentless industrial progress. Both the nation and the families’ long-standing bond hover on the brink of destruction.

In the series’ epic conclusion, Jakes expertly blends personal conflict with historical events, crafting a ha

84

Gettysburg: A Testing of Courage

Noah Andre Trudeau

4.0

America's Civil War raged for more than four years, but it is the three days of fighting in the Pennsylvania countryside in July 1863 that continues to fascinate, appall, and inspire new generations with its unparalleled saga of sacrifice and courage. From Chancellorsville, where General Robert E. Lee launched his high-risk campaign into the North, to the Confederates' last daring and ultimately-d

85

The War That Forged a Nation: Why the Civil War Still Matters

James M. McPherson

4.0

More than 140 years ago, Mark Twain observed that the Civil War had "uprooted institutions that were centuries old, changed the politics of a people, transformed the social life of half the country, and wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations." In fact, five generations have passed, and Americans are still try

86

The Secrets of Mary Bowser

Lois Leveen

4.0

With the rich detail of Cold Mountain, the strong female bonds of The Help, and the untold history of The Warmth of Other Suns, comes a powerful debut novel about the secrets a woman keeps, and those she will risk everything to tell.

Based on the remarkable true story of a freed African American slave who returned to Virginia at the onset of the Civil War to spy on the Confederates, The Secrets of

87

The Smoke at Dawn (Civil War: 1861-1865, Western Theater, #3)

Jeff Shaara

4.0

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Jeff Shaara returns to the Civil War terrain he knows so well, with the latest novel in the series that started with A Blaze of Glory and A Chain of Thunder. In The Smoke at Dawn, the last great push of the Army of the Cumberland sets the stage for a decisive confrontation at Chattanooga that could determine the outcome of the war.

Summer, 1863. The Federal triumph at Vick

88

Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution 1863-1877

Eric Foner

4.0

This "masterful treatment of one of the most complex periods of American history" (New Republic) made history when it was originally published in 1988. It redefined how Reconstruction was viewed by historians and people everywhere in its chronicling of how Americans -- black and white -- responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. This "smart book of enormou

89

The Black Flower: A Novel of the Civil War

Howard Bahr

4.0

The Black Flower is the gripping Story of a young Confederate rifleman named Bushrod Carter. When Bushrod is wounded, he is taken to a makeshift hospital where he comes under the care of Anna, who has already lost two potential romances to battle. Bushrod and Anna's attempt to forge a bond n the midst of pathos and horror is a powerful reminder that the war that divided America will not vanish qui

90

Rifles for Watie

Harold Keith

4.0

Jeff Bussey walked briskly up the rutted wagon road toward Fort Leavenworth on his way to join the Union volunteers. It was 1861 in Linn County, Kansas, and Jeff was elated at the prospect of fighting for the North at last.

In the Indian country south of Kansas there was dread in the air; and the name, Stand Watie, was on every tongue. A hero to the rebel, a devil to the Union man, Stand Watie led

91

The Gettysburg Campaign: A Study in Command

Edwin B. Coddington

4.0

The Battle of Gettyburg remains one of the most controversial military actions in America's history, and one of the most studied.

Professor Coddington's is an analysis not only of the battle proper, but of the actions of both Union and Confederate armies for the six months prior to the battle and the factors affecting General Meade’s decision not to pursue the retreating Confederate forces. This bo

92

An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League, #1)

Alyssa Cole

4.0

As the Civil War rages between the states, a courageous pair of spies plunge fearlessly into a maelstrom of ignorance, deceit, and danger, combining their unique skills to alter the course of history and break the chains of the past . . .

Elle Burns is a former slave with a passion for justice and an eidetic memory. Trading in her life of freedom in Massachusetts, she returns to the indignity of sl

93

Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman

Robert L. O'Connell

4.0

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

William Tecumseh Sherman was more than just one of our greatest generals. Fierce Patriot is a bold, revisionist portrait of how this iconic and enigmatic figure exerted an outsize impact on the American landscape—and the American character.

America’s first “celebrity” general, William Tecumseh Sherman was a man of many faces. Some were exalted in the public eye, others known onl

94

Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory

David W. Blight

4.0

No historical event has left as deep an imprint on America's collective memory as the Civil War. In the war's aftermath, Americans had to embrace and cast off a traumatic past. David Blight explores the perilous path of remembering and forgetting, and reveals its tragic costs to race relations and America's national reunion.

In 1865, confronted with a ravaged landscape and a torn America, the Nort

95

This Hallowed Ground: A History of the Civil War

Bruce Catton

4.0

First published in 1955, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Bruce Catton’s classic account of the Civil War simultaneously captures the dramatic scope and intimate experience of that epic struggle in one brilliant volume.

Covering events from the prelude of the conflict to the death of Lincoln, Catton blends a gripping narrative with deep, yet unassuming, scholarship to bring the war alive on the pa

Recommended by Ryan Holiday.

Ryan Holiday

Author

This year I loved Bruce Catton’s This Hallowed Ground: A History of the Civil War and A Stillness at Appomattox. If you want to understand the Civil War and you want to see one of the greatest non-fiction writing ever, read Catton. [source]

96

Shiloh, 1862

Winston Groom

4.0

Offers a detailed account of the Battle of Shiloh, a turning point when both the Union and the Confederacy realized the grand scale of the conflict, the large number of casualties to be expected, and that the war would not end quickly.

97

Twelve Years a Slave

Solomon Northup

4.0

Twelve Years a Slave, sub-title: Narrative of Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, is a memoir by Solomon Northup as told to and edited by David Wilson. It is a slave narrative of a black man who was born free in New York state but kidnapped in Washington, D.C., sold into slavery,

Recommended by Ryan Holiday.

Ryan Holiday

Author

I read two important memoirs from slaves as well, and strongly recommend 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup and A Slave in the White House about Paul Jennings. [source]

98

Gettysburg--The Second Day

Harry W. Pfanz

4.0

The second day's fighting at Gettysburg--the assault of the Army of Northern Virginia against the Army of the Potomac on 2 July 1863--was probably the critical engagement of that decisive battle and, therefore, among the most significant actions of the Civil War.

Harry Pfanz, a former historian at Gettysburg National Military Park, has written a definitive account of the second day's brutal combat

Cover unavailable

99

Farnsworth's Classical English Style

Ward Farnsworth

4.0

"For writers aspiring to master the craft, Farnsworth shows how it's done. For lovers of language, he provides waves of sheer pleasure."--Steven Pinker

Say it with style--on paper or in person. This book explains why the best writing sounds that way, with more than 100 examples from Lincoln, Churchill, and other masters of the language. Farnsworth shows how small choices about words, sentences, and

100

The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864

Gordon C. Rhea Esq.

4.0

Fought in a tangled forest fringing the south bank of the Rapidan River, the Battle of the Wilderness marked the initial engagement in the climactic months of the Civil War in Virginia, and the first encounter between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. Gordon C. Rhea, in his exhaustive study The Battle of the Wilderness, provides the consummate recounting of that conflict of May 5 and 6, 1864, wh