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American Civil War
General Works
Contemporary Accounts

Battles
Antietam
Second Bull Run
Gettysburg

Biographies
Grant, Ulysses S.
Sherman, William T.

General Works

Battle Cry of Freedom, James M. McPherson, OUP, 1988, 944 pages. One of the best single volume accounts of the Civil War era, taking in the decade before the war before moving on to the conflict itself. McPherson covers the military events of the war well, while also including good sections on politics North and South. [see more]

A Great Civil War, Russel F. Wiegley, Indiana University Press, 2004, 648 pages. This is a superb account of the civil war years. Weigley has produced a book that combines a good understanding of the military aspects of the war with a clear grasp of the wider issues at stake. [see more]

Roll Call to Destiny, Brent Nosworthy. This book takes a very different approach to the Civil War battlefield, looking at a number of well known incidents from the point of view of one or more of the individual units involved. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the Civil War battlefield. [see more]

A Short History of the Civil War: Ordeal by Fire, Fletcher Pratt. Originally written in 1935, some of the detail in this book may be out of date, but it is still widely considered to be one of the best single volume histories of the civil war.

Confederate Cavalryman: 1861-1865 (Warrior S.), Philip Katcher. A good general work that covers the training, equipment and experience of the Confederate Cavalry, as well as examining some of their most significant battles.

Contemporary Accounts

Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (1 volume selection), ed. Ned Bradford. Less than twenty years after the end of the war, most of the surviving commanders contributed to the original four volume Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. This single volume edition picks out articles on the most important battles of the war, as well as an interesting selection of articles from civilians and private soldiers. [see more]

With Pen and Saber: Letters and Diaries of J. E. B. Stuart's Staff Officers, Robert J. Trout. If you want to find out what Stuart's own men thought of him and the war they were fighting, then this collection of letters and diaries is the ideal resource.

Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics, William J. Hardee. This was the standard infantry textbook on both sides during the American Civil War [see more].

Antietam

Antietam, 1862: The Civil War's Bloodiest Day, Norman Stevens, Osprey, 1994. Antietam was one of the great missed chances of history. This book gives a concise and readable account of the Union army's failure to take a chance to destroy Robert E. Lee and his army.

Second Bull Run

The Second Bull Run Campaign: July-August 1862, David G. Martin. A well illustrated look at the entire Second Bull Run campaign, a key turning point in the American Civil War which saw the south go from the verge of defeat around Richmond to triumph at Manassas, and the campaign that saw Robert E. Lee first justify his great reputation.

Gettysburg

Stars in Their Courses: Gettysburg Campaign, Shelby Foote, 304 pages. Well researched and written by one of the best known historians of the Civil War, this work is taken from his longer three volume work on the war, but does not suffer from that.

, Ulysses S. Grant,union general

Men of Fire: Grant, Forrest and the Campaign That Decided the Civil War, Jack Hurst. This is a very well researched and readable account of one of the most significant campaigns of the American Civil War - the Federal attacks on Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, two victories that broke the Confederate defensive line in the west, and set the tone for the rest of the war. [see more]

Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters , Ulysses S. Grant. Written while he was dying of throat cancer, Grant's memoirs concentrated on his life up to and including the civil war. An invaluable insight into the mind of one of the main players in the Civil War, summed up well by one of its most famous quotes. "I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse"

William Tecumseh Sherman

Memoirs, William T. Sherman. One of the classic military auto-biographies, this is a very readable account of Sherman's involvement in the American Civil War, supported by a large number of documents. A valuable, generally impartial work that is of great value to anyone interested in Sherman's role in the war.