Deeds of Valor: How America's Civil War Heroes Won the Congressional Medal of Honor

I am doing a genealogy report for my son-in-law. His great, great, great grandfather (a Medal of Honor recipient) has a chapter in the book. I love it!!

First published in 1901, _Deeds of Valor_ is a huge collection of personal reminiscences and records of Union soldiers who were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor during the American Civil War. This book contains 293 amazing stories of these brave warriors who fought for the Union. The stories come from 185 different battles and skirmishes, including Antietam, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Fort Donelson, Fort Henry, Fort Sumter, Fredericksburg, Gen. Lee's Surrender, Gettysburg, Harper's Ferry, Jackson, Knoxville, Mobile, Nashville, Richmond, Sherman's March to the Sea, Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Williamsburg. The book is also filled with over 500 illustrations! There are many gripping tales of bold attacks, amazing captures, and daring escapes from soldiers of all ranks. Congress authorized the Medal of Honor on March 3, 1863, to be "awarded to officers and enlisted men...for particular deeds of most distinguished gallantry in action". In addition to the 293 Medal of Honor winners that are profiled in the book, there are four and a half pages listing the names of many other Medal of Honor winners. In short, this book is awesome both as a gripping read and as an excellent reference tool. And for more research there are several great websites that give detailed information on every single Medal of Honor winner. Being from the South, I wish that there were a book about Southern Cross of Honor (The Confederate equivilant to the Medal of Honor) winners, and if anyone knows of a book on the subject please e-mail me. Overall, this book is highly recommended for both "Johnny Reb" and "Billy Yank"!

Though I'm a southerner, I enjoyed these poignant biographical sketches and stories of the recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Some of the accounts of these Union soldiers' hardships in combat are remarkable. It chronicles heroic engagements by soldiers in some of the pivotal battles of the War. If you're interested in the Civil War-better known as The War of Northern Aggression in my home state-than you might like 'The Civil War: A Narrative' by Shelby Foote.