Read The Confederate Nation: 1861 to 1865 Online

Authors: Emory M. Thomas

Tags: #History, #United States, #American Civil War, #Non-Fiction

The Confederate Nation: 1861 to 1865 (49 page)

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State governments, too, printed legislative journals and statutes. These and other material published in the Confederacy are listed and located in Marjorie L. Crandall (comp.),
Confederate Imprints: A Check List Based Principally on the Collections of the Boston Athenaeum,
2 vols. (Boston, 1955), and Richard B. Harwell (comp.),
More Confederate Imprints,
2 vols. (Richmond, Va., 1957). The imprints cited in Crandall’s and Harwell’s volumes are available in microfilm edition compiled by the Lost Cause Press.

Basic to any military study and many civil topics as well is
War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,
127 “serials” comprising 70 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1880–1901). Comparable materials on the navy and some diplomatic correspondence as well are in
Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion,
30 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1894–1922).

Periodicals

The standard study of magazines in the United States is Frank Luther Mott,
A History of American Magazines, 1741–1905,
5 vols. (New York and Cambridge, Mass., 1930–1968). To locate periodicals the best guide is Winifred Gregory,
Union List of Serials in Libraries of the United States and Canada
(New York, 1943),
and Supplement…
(New York, 1945); however microfilm has much reduced the need to travel in order to use periodicals.

Within the Confederacy the most significant magazines were:

The Countryman De Bow’s Review

Magnolia: A Southern Home Journal.

Record of News, History, and Literature

Richmond Age, A Southern Monthly Eclectic Magazine

Southern Cultivator

Southern Field and Fireside

Southern Illustrated News

Southern Literary Messenger

Southern Punch

Newspapers

For newspapers the best introductions are Dwight L. Dumond (ed.),
Southern Editorials on Secession
(New York, 1931), and especially J. Cutler Andrews,
The South Reports the Civil War
(Princeton, N.J., 1970). Frederick S. Daniel,
The Richmond Examiner during the War …
(New York, 1868), contains some of the best editorials to appear in that provocative paper. Also appropriate is the article by J. Cutler Andrews, “Writing History from Civil War Newspapers,”
Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine,
LIV (1971), 1–14. For the location of the files of specific papers, the standard guide is Winifred Gregory (ed.),
American Newspapers, 1821–1936, A Union List of Files Available in the United States and Canada
(New York, 1937). Perhaps even more helpful, though incomplete, is U.S. Library of Congress,
Newspapers on Microfilm,
6th edition (Washington, D.C., 1967). Most recent information on newspapers on microfilm is available from the Micro Photo Division of the Bell and Howell Company.

A representative list of newspapers significant for the study of the Confederacy includes:

Athens
Southern Watchman

Atlanta
Intelligencer

Atlanta
Southern Confederacy

Augusta
Chronicle and Sentinel

Augusta
Constitutionalist

Charleston
Courier

Charleston
Mercury

Chattanooga
Daily Rebel

Columbia
South Carolinian

Columbia
Southern Guardian

Columbus
Enquirer

Galveston
Tri-Weekly News

Houston
Telegraph

Jackson
Mississippian

Knoxville
Register

London
Index

London
Times

Lynchburg
Republican

Lynchburg
Virginian

Macon
Telegraph

Memphis
Appeal

Milledgeville
Confederate Union

Mobile
Register and Advertiser

Montgomery
Advertiser

Montgomery
Daily Mail

Nashville
Republican Banner

Natchez
Courier

New
Orleans Crescent

New
Orleans Delta

New
Orleans Picayune

New
York Times

New
York Tribune

Norfolk
Day Book

Raleigh
Confederate

Raleigh
North Carolina
Evening Standard

Richmond
Dispatch

Richmond
Enquirer

Richmond
Examiner

Richmond
Sentinel

Richmond
Whig

Savannah
Morning News

Savannah
Republican

Selma
Reporter

Vicksburg
Whig

Wilmington
Journal

A special class of newspapers is described in Bell I. Wiley, “Camp Newspapers of the Confederacy,”
North Carolina Historical Review
XX (1943) 327–335.

Physical and Graphic Sources

Confederate physical remains and reminders still exist in the South. Visits to cities such as Richmond or Charleston and automobile trips away from interstate highways in the Southern United States offer the opportunity to see houses and public buildings which date back to the Confederate era. Helpful for the traveler is Alice Hamilton Cromie,
A Tour Guide to the Civil War
(Chicago, 1965). The National Park Service does a generally outstanding job of administering sites at Chickamauga and Chattanooga, Stones River (Murfreesboro, Tennessee), Kennesaw Mountain, Shiloh, Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, Fort Pulaski, Antietam, Gettysburg, Manassas, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania, Petersburg, Richmond, Fort Sumter, and Appomattox Court House. In addition state and municipal governments sponsor the preservation and administration of other places of historical interest. Organizations such as state historical societies and chambers of commerce also maintain sites and museums throughout the South.

The largest single collection of photographs dealing with the Confederacy and its war is that of Matthew Brady at the Library of Congress. Among published materials the most complete is Francis T. Miller (ed.),
The Photographic History of the Civil War,
lOvols. (New York, 1912). A recent case study of photography during the period is William A. Frassanito,
Gettysburg: A Journey in Time
(New York, 1975).

The response of graphic art to the Confederacy and the war is usually represented in the works of Winslow Homer, for which see Julian Grossman,
Echo of a Distant Drum: Winslow Homer and the Civil War
(New York, 1974). However, other artists of varying abilities displayed their talents in a variety of media ranging from sheet music covers to illustrated letters. A fine collection of this material, originally published in
Battles and Leaders of the Civil War,
is Stephen W. Sears (ed.),
The American Heritage Century Collection of the Civil War Art
(New York 1974). For contemporary sketches, periodicals such as
Harper’s Weekly, Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, The Illustrated London News,
and
The Southern Illustrated News
are quite good. Because the techniques of photography were still quite primitive, these sketches provide a counterpart of the modern action photograph. A good collection of drawings is
The Civil War: A Centennial Exhibition of Eyewitness Drawings
(Washington, D.C., 1961.) Edited by Alfred H. Guernsey and Henry M. Alden,
Harper’s Pictorial History of the Great Rebellion,
2 vols. (New York, 1866–1868) is basic. Also good is the recent work on Alfred R. Waud, Frederic E. Ray’s
Alfred R. Waud: Civil War Artist
(New York, 1974); and W. Stanley Hoole,
Vizetelly Covers the Confederacy
(Tuscaloosa, Ala., 1957). Collections of drawings, paintings, photographs, and the like include Richard M. Ketchum (ed.),
The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War
(New York, 1960); David Donald (ed.),
Divided We Fought
(New York, 1952); Bell I. Wiley and Hirst D. Milhollen,
They Who Fought Here
(New York, 1959); and Bell I. Wiley,
Embattled Confederates
(New York, 1964). The current periodical
Civil War Times Illustrated,
too, contains excellent graphic work of the era. And on a more limited scale so do the magazines
Virginia Cavalcade
and
American History Illustrated.

For maps the best collection is Calvin D. Cowles (comp.),
Atlas to Accompany the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies,
2 vols. (Washington, D.C., 1891–1895). More readily available is Vincent J. Esposito (ed.),
The West Point Atlas of American Wars,
2 vols. (New York, 1959).

Biography and Personal Narratives

Numerous reference works of collected biography offer introductions to the Confederate dramatis personae. Basic is Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone (eds.),
Dictionary of American Biography,
22 vols., index (New York, 1928–1965). A forthcoming work to be published by Louisiana State Press, Davis C. Roller and Robert Twyman,
Encyclopedia of Southern History,
will doubtlessly be vital. In addition to Mark Boatner’s
Civil War Dictionary
(cited on page 325, above) are Ezra J. Warner
Generals in Gray
(Baton Rouge, La., 1959) ; Ezra J. Warner and W. Buck Yearns,
Biographical Register of the Confederate Congress
(Baton Rouge, La., 1975); and Jon L. Wakelyn,
Biographical Dictionary of the Confederacy
(Westport, Conn., 1977). Besides these works, Thomas B. Alexander and Richard E. Beringer,
Anatomy of the Confederate Congress
(Nashville, Tenn., 1972), contains background data on individual members of the Congress. The standard guide to biographical literature is the
Biography Index
(New York, 1946-present), which provides an index of books and articles on American figures.

For personal narratives there are several excellent guides. See especially volume two of C. E. Dornbusch (comp.),
Regimental Publications and Personal Narratives of the Civil War: A Checklist,
2 vols. (New York, 1961–1971). Travel literature is a valuable resource, and for materials see E. Merton Coulter,
Travels in the Confederate States: A Bibliography
(Norman, 1948); Frank Monaghan,
French Travellers in the United States, 1765–1932: A Bibliography
(New York, 1933 reprinted and supplemented by Samuel J. Marino, 1961); and Allan Nevins,
America Through British Eyes
(New York, 1948), which contains thirty-one excerpts from travel accounts and an annotated bibliography. For diaries begun before 1861 (which often continue into the Confederate era) see William Matthews,
American Diaries: An Annotated Bibliography of American Diaries Written Prior to the Year 1861
(Berkeley, Calif. 1945), and the same author’s volume on manuscript diaries,
American Diaries in Manuscript, 1580–1954: a descriptive Bibliography
(Athens, Ga., 1974). There is also a guide to autobiography, Louis Kaplan and others,
A Bibliography of American Autobiographies
(Madison, Wis., 1961).

The list which follows includes prominent Confederates (or authors of prominent narratives), their significant biographies and their own writings.

Warren Akin:

Bell I. Wiley (ed.),
Letters of Warren Akin, Confederate Congressman
(Athens, Ga., 1959).

James Lusk Alcorn:

Lillian A. Pereyra,
James Lusk Alcorn: Persistent Whig,
(Baton Rouge, La., 1966).

Edward P. Alexander:

Maury Klein,
Edward Porter Alexander
(Athens, Ga., 1971). Edward P. Alexander,
Military Memoirs of a Confederate,
ed. by T. Harry Williams (Bloomington, Ind. 1962).

Henry W. Allen:

Vincent H. Cassidy and Amos E. Simpson,
Henry Watkins Allen of Louisiana
(Baton Rouge, La. 1964).

James Patton Anderson:

“Autobiography of General Patton Anderson,”
Southern Historical Society Papers,
XXIV (1896), 57–72.

Joseph R. Anderson:

Charles B. Dew, Ironmaker to the Confederacy: Joseph R. Anderson and the Tredegar Iron Works (New Haven, Conn., 1966).

Eliza Frances Andrews:

Spencer Bidwell King, Jr. (ed.),
War-Time Journal of a Georgia Girl, 1864–1865
(Macon, 1960).

Turner Ashby:

Frank Cunningham,
Knight of the Confederacy: Gen. Turner Ashby
(San Antonio, Tex., 1960).

Myrta L. Avary:

Myrta L. Avary (ed.),
A Virginia Girl in the Civil War
(New York, 1903).

George William Bagby:

George W. Bagby,
The Old Virginia Gentleman and Other Sketches,
5th edition, Richmond, Va., 1948).

Pierce Gustave Toutant Beauregard:

Hamilton Basso,
Beauregard: the Great Creole
(New York, 1933).

T. Harry Williams,
P. G. T. Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray
(Baton Rouge, La., 1955).

Alfred Roman, The Military Operations of General Beauregard in the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865 … (New York, 1884).

Judah P. Benjamin:

Pierce Butler,
Judah P. Benjamin
(Philadelphia, 1907).

Robert D. Meade, Judah P. Benjamin: Confederate Statesman (New York, 1943).

Rollin Osterweis, Judah P. Benjamin: Statesman of the Lost Cause (New York, 1933).

Simon I, Neiman
, Judah Benjamin,
(Indianapolis, Ind., 1963).

Henry L. Benning:

James C. Cobb, “The Making of a Secessionist: Henry L. Benning and the Coming of the Civil War,”
Georgia Historical (Quarterly,
LX (1976), 313–323.

Mary B. M. Blackford:

L. Minor Blackford, Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: The Story of a Virginia Lady, Mary Berkeley Minor Blackford … (Cambridge, Mass., 1954).

BOOK: The Confederate Nation: 1861 to 1865
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