The bibliography of the American Civil War comprises books that deal in large part with the American Civil War. There are over 60,000 books on the war, with more appearing each month.[1] Authors James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier stated in 2012, "No event in American history has been so thoroughly studied, not merely by historians, but by tens of thousands of other Americans who have made the war their hobby. Perhaps a hundred thousand books have been published about the Civil War."[2]

There is no complete bibliography to the war; the largest guide to books is more than 50 years old and lists over 6,000 of the most valuable titles as evaluated by three leading scholars.[3] Many specialized topics such as Abraham Lincoln,[4] women,[5] and medicine[6] have their own lengthy bibliographies. The books on major campaigns typically contain their own specialized guides to the sources and literature. The most comprehensive guide to the historiography annotates over a thousand major titles, with an emphasis on military topics.[7] The most recent guide to literary and non-military topics is A History of American Civil War Literature (2016) edited by Coleman Hutchison. It emphasizes cultural studies, memory, diaries, southern literary writings, and famous novelists.[8]

Causes of the war

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Secession

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American Civil War battles and campaigns

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Ironclads

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University of South Carolina Press, 1985, 1988. ISBN 978-0872496163. Originally published Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 1971.

Confederate raiders

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Unit histories

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Union military units

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Confederate military units

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Strategy and command

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Technology, weapons, logistics

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Reconstruction

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Medical

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Primary sources

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Slavery and emancipation

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International affairs

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Collected biographies

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Military leaders

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Soldiers and sailors

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Prisoners

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Violence and death

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Homefront

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States, regions, and local

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Guerillas

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Ethnic groups

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African Americans

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University of North Carolina Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0807834527.

Primary sources

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American Indians

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Primary sources

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Women

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National

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North

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Black South

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White South

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Primary sources

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Ideology, rhetoric, religion

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Veterans

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Historiography

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Surveys and reference books

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  1. John G. Nicolay (1881), The Outbreak of Rebellion, reprint, New York: Da Capo, 1995.
  2. Manning Force (1881), From Fort Henry to Corinth.
  3. Alexander S. Webb (1881), The Peninsular: McClellan's Campaign of 1862.
  4. John Codman Ropes (1881), The Army under Pope.
  5. James Russell Soley (1883), The Blockade and the Cruisers.
  6. Francis Winthrop Palfrey (1885), The Antietam and Fredericksburg, reprint, New York: Da Capo, 1996.
  7. Abner Doubleday (1882), Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, reprints, New York: Da Capo, 1994, and Saint Petersburg, FL: Red and Black, 2009.
  8. Henry M. Cist (1882), The Army of the Cumberland.
  9. Francis Vinton Greene (1882), The Mississippi.
  10. Daniel Ammen (1883), The Atlantic Coast.
  11. Jacob Dolson Cox (1882), Atlanta, reprint, retitled as Sherman's Battle for Atlanta, New York: Da Capo, 1994.
  12. Jacob Dolson Cox, (1882), The March to the Sea, Franklin and Nashville, reprint, retitled as Sherman's March to the Sea, Hood's Tennessee Campaign and the Carolina Campaigns of 1865, New York: Da Capo, 1994.
  13. George Edward Pond (1882), The Shenandoah Valley in 1864.
  14. Andrew A. Humphreys (1883), The Virginia Campaign of '64 and '65: The Army of the Potomac and the Army of the James, reprint, New York: Da Capo, 1995.
  15. Alfred Thayer Mahan (1883), The Gulf and Inland Waters.
  1. Catton, Bruce. The Centennial History of the Civil War. Vol. 1, The Coming Fury. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1961. ISBN 0641685254.
  2. Catton, Bruce. The Centennial History of the Civil War. Vol. 2, Terrible Swift Sword. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1963. ISBN 0385026145.
  3. Catton, Bruce. The Centennial History of the Civil War. Vol. 3, Never Call Retreat. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965. ISBN 0671469908.
  1. Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 1, Fort Sumter to Perryville. New York: Random House, 1958. ISBN 0394495179.
  2. Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 2, Fredericksburg to Meridian. New York: Random House, 1958. ISBN 0394495179.
  3. Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. Vol. 3, Red River to Appomattox. New York: Random House, 1974. ISBN 0394749138.
  1. From Sumter to Shiloh.
  2. North to Antietam.
  3. Retreat from Gettysburg.
  4. The Way to Appomattox.
  1. Fruits of Manifest Destiny, 1847–1852
  2. A House Dividing, 1852–1857
  3. Douglas, Buchanan, and Party Chaos, 1857–1859
  4. Prologue to Civil War, 1859–1861
  5. The Improvised War, 1861–1862
  6. War Becomes Revolution, 1862–1863
  7. The Organized War, 1863–1864
  8. The Organized War to Victory, 1864–1865

For the most recent surveys see:

Maps, photographs, environment

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  1. Volume I: Shadows of the storm.. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1981. ISBN 978-0385154666.
  2. Volume II: The Guns of '62. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1982. ISBN 978-0385154673.
  3. Volume III: The Embattled Confederacy. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1982. ISBN 978-0385154680.
  4. Volume IV: Fighting for Time. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1983. ISBN 978-0385182805.
  5. Volume V: The South Besieged. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1983. ISBN 978-0385182812.
  6. Volume VI: The End of an Era. Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1984. ISBN 978-0385182829.
  1. Davis, William C. and William A. Frassanito. Touched by Fire: A Photographic Portrait of the Civil War. Volume One. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1985. ISBN 978-0316176613.
  2. Davis, William C. and William A. Frassanito. Touched by Fire: A Photographic Portrait of the Civil War. Volume Two. Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1986. ISBN 978-0316176644.

Bibliographies

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Newspapers in the Civil War

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Art and music

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Tour guides

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Monuments, battlefields, and battlefield preservation

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Government publications

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Primary sources

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Memoirs

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Other

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Southern Illinois University Press, 2007.
University of North Carolina Press, 2008.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ In 2001, Jonathan Sarna estimated that over 50,000 books had already appeared, with 1,500 more appearing annually. American Jewish History 89.3 (2001) 335–337.
  2. ^ James Lincoln Collier; Christopher Collier (2012). Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War: 1831–1861. Blackstone Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 978-1620645116.
  3. ^ Allan Nevins, Bell Irvin Wiley, and James I. Robertson, Civil War Books: A Critical Bibliography (2 vol, 1970)
  4. ^ Burkhimer, Michael. 100 Essential Lincoln Books (2003)
  5. ^ McDevitt, Theresa. Women and the American Civil War: An Annotated Bibliography (2003)
  6. ^ Freemon, Frank R. Microbes and Minie Balls (1993)
  7. ^ Woodworth, Steven; et al., eds. The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research (1996)
  8. ^ See online edition at Google.com

Further reading

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For a guide to the bibliography see:

For a guide to web sources see:

For an older short survey that is online and won the Pulitzer Prize (1918), see: