The Civil War Reader

The Civil War Reader by Richard B. Harwell is a combination of both the Confederate and Union Readers making this an indispensible companion to anyone interested in the Civil War. By combining both readers in one volume you can cross reference accounts across both sides of the conflict giving you a better picture as to what really happened.Here the participants describe in their own words the bitterness of the conflict making reading this book realistic as the animosity, battlefield scenes of heroism and horror reach up and grab for your attention. Like all history, time dimmes the recollection till there is no one left to tell what happens, only the written word is left to tell the succeding generations what had transpired. But so much we forget. The war was more than Lincoln and his generals and his Cabinet, more than battles and heros. The South and the Confederates in this reader is a rough chronological selection from the writings of the times, the writings that were, theoretically at least, available to the Confederate reading public. And here, more than about any other period, the South has felt it necessary to explain itself. Hardly was the ink dry on General Lee's farewell at Appomattox before the South began its attempts to vindicate in print its course during the war. the War of Separation, the War of Yankee Aggression.This record left by these printed evidences of Confederate life is the truest record of the war. Prejudiced and incomplete as it is, it is nevertheless an accurate picture of the Confederacy, left for posterity. I found this to be one of the best books on both sides of the war as the people who were there, wrote what they felt to be true, giving the reader a glimpse into the psyche of the war.America in 1861 was still a new country. Just as the war was a test of democratic principle it was a test of democratic education. Never before had there been so literate an army. Such a soldiery was ready, and proud, to relate its experiences. That is why we as the posterity can read eyewittness accounts that recall events in detail just as if we were there ourselves.This is an excellent, cogent, and fast read, but filled with copoius detail, making this an excellent choice for your library.