The U.S. Civil War  

Helpful Links:

• www.CivilWar.com

• Chronological list of Civil War Battles

• Listing of soldiers in Stand Watie's Cherokee Regiments

• Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War

• Sons of Confederate Veterans

• Cyndi's List - U.S. - Civil War / War for Southern Independence

• Virginia's Civil War Trails | Central Virginia

• Cemetery of Lower Marsh Creek Presbyterian Church - Gettysburg Pennsylvania cemetery offers burial records dating from the 18th Century. Provides lot subdivisions and contact details.

• Graves at Brices Crossroads - Listing of Confederate graves in cemetery at Brices Crossroads National Battlefield. Sorted by regiment.

• Civil War Rosters - Arranged by State (external site, very complete, updated regularly)

Following the War Between the States, the surviving Southern soldiers came together to form a veterans organization known as the United Confederate Veterans [UCV].  The  [SCV] is the heir to this legacy. Here are a couple individual State listings:

• Northern Virginia SCV

• Tennessee SCV

• Virginia SCV

Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, given November 19, 1863
on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA

Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth
upon this continent a new nation:  conceived in liberty, and
dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . .
can long endure.  We are met on a great battlefield of that war.

We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place
for those who here gave their lives that this nation might live.
It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate. . .we cannot consecrate. . .
we cannot hallow this ground.  The brave men, living and dead,
who struggled here have consecrated it, far above our poor power
to add or detract.  The world will little note, nor long remember,
what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished
work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.
It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
before us. . .that from these honored dead we take increased devotion
to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. . .
that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain. . .
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. . .
and that government of the people. . .by the people. . .for the people. . .
shall not perish from this earth.

~ Abraham Lincoln

Books:

• The Civil War; A Narrative: Fort Sumter to Perryville, Fredericksburg to Meridian, Red River to Appomattox (3 Vol. Set)

• April 1865: The Month That Saved America

• From Manassas to Appomattox: Memoirs of the Civil War in America by James Longstreet

• For Cause and Comrades: Why Men Fought in the Civil War by James M. McPherson

• Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor - Bertram Hawthorne Groene

• In Search of Confederate Ancestors: The Guide (Journal of Confederate History, Vol 9)
  by J. H. Segars, John McGlone (Editor)

Cherokee General: Brigadier General Stand Watie, the Cherokee Nation, and the Civil War

A great video
Reviewer: Shawn Smith from Cumberland Gap, TN United States

How many of us in school were ever told about Stand Watie? The video covers his life as a Cherokee leader until his final surrender to Union forces. Anyone who has any interest in the Civil War or Indian affairs should buy this video. It will open your eyes to history that we were never taught. A truly moving experience.

The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns (1990)

This Wakes The Dead!
Reviewer: Michael Foley from Paxton, MA USA

Ken Burns says that all his works are to "wake the dead". Indeed, the Civil War succeeds in this regard bringing back this fascinating and important period in our nation's history. Biographies of generals and privates, music, photographs, professional narration, insights by noted historians, battles, weapons, politics, culture -- such well-researched content is interwoven and presented in a most watchable, educational , and entertaining format.

But even more than "waking the dead", Burns' Civil War wakes the living to our nation's history and re-kindles a love of history and Americana in his viewers. I for one have gone on a reading binge, inspired by this movie, of other biographies, battle accounts. I'd like to plan a summer vacation to visit Gettysburg. And when I play Ashokan Farewell -- a theme song from the movie -- on the piano, chills go up my spine.

Two historians in the movie are worth mentioning by name -- Shelby Foote, and Barbara Fields. For example, you feel like you are in Foote's living room as he, seemingly off-handedly, adds fascinating color to the movie. He provides insights into the generals, the battles, all about the times, everything. Foote's 3 book account of the Civil War is now on my reading list .

Barbara Fields does the same as Foote, although her insight is more poignantly focused at slavery and emancipation. What sticks in my mind is her dialogue in the last 15 minutes of the last episode. Her comments extend the Civil War to a much greater period of time than the 4 years from 1861-1865. The relevancy of that war, it's themes extends all the way back to the founding of the nation and the adoption of the Constitution -- and extends all the way forward in time to the present day.

I feel like sending Burns a letter thanking him for creating such a fabulous movie. I could go on and on in my praise for this movie. Suffice to say it is absolutely incredible!

The Last Days of the Civil War

A GREAT LOOK AT THE END OF AMERICA'S GREATEST TEST!
Reviewer: Steven Hancock from Winston Salem, NC

"The Last Days of the Civil War" gives the viewer a fascinating look at the end of the American Civil War, our greatest test as a nation! The Five Impressive Documentaries include:

-"April 1865: The Month That Saved America." A detailed account of the last month of the Civil War. It shows how the outcome of the war was in question even after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox.
-"Civil War Combat: The Tragedy of Cold Harbor." An intense and moving look at the battle that brought about the end of Napoleonic tactics, and ushered in the era of trench warfare.
-"A&E Biography: Abraham Lincoln." A closeup look at the man who led America through it's darkest hour.
-2 "Civil War Journal" Documentaries that look at the lives of CSA President Jefferson Davis and CSA General Robert E. Lee.
This set gives an accurate look at the end of America's greatest conflict! Historians and non-historians alike will not be disappointed! Grade: A+