Books

Military Books

Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War and World War I books.

Broad View Books
Unit Histories, Towns in the War, Reference Books, New England at War, Canada in the Great War

U.S. Naval History Sources in the United States $19.95
Compiled and Edited by Dean C. Allard, Martha L Crawley, and Mary W. Edmison
Washington, D.C.: Naval History Division, Department of the Navy; 1979
235 pages, 7 x 10 softbound, b & w illustrations; good condition, cover lightly soiled.

Indian Wars of New England, Volumes 1, 2, and 3. $149.95
Herbert M. Sylvester.
Bowie, Md.: Heritage Books, 1998. A facsimile reprint of the 1910 edition.
(from the back cover)
Volume I: The first of three chronologically arranged volumes, Volume 1 begins with a description of the Indian tribes of New England, discusses the early settlers and their relations with the Indians, and covers the Pequod War and the wars of the Mohegans.
The Indians are described in general terms regarding religion, art, language, agriculture, etc., as well as by specific tribe. The early settlers, the Pilgrims and the Puritans, had friends among the Indians-Massasoit and Squanto, for instance-but, in the main, relations were bloody between natives and newcomers. The lengthy section on the Pequod War begins with the rising tensions caused by Dutch and English encroachment onto Pequod lands, and covers the ensuing fighting, the tribe's fall from power and influence in the 1630s, and the final dispersal of the few remaining members into other tribes. The section on the wars of the Mohegans, in the 1630s and 1640s, focuses mainly on the conflicts between that tribe and the Narragansetts but it also covers the increasing conflicts between the Mohegans and the white settlers. Well written and heavily footnoted, this book is an informative narrative of the Indian wars of New England. #S949
Volume II: This profusely annotated work is an indispensable resource for the serious scholar. Volume II is divided into four sections: The Land of the Abenake, The French Occupation, King Philip's War and St. Castin's War (also known as King William's War.).
The first section begins with Cartier's exploration along the St. Lawrence River in 1534, followed by Champlain's probes along the coast of Maine in 1604. This section is rounded out with detailed descriptions of the geography, Abenake culture and relations with the Europeans.
The French Occupation deals with the continuing expeditions of Champlain and other explorers, and with French efforts to attract settlers, establish Jesuit missions and develop the fur trading economy. France endeavored to spread her influence in the New World and solidify her alliance with the Indians as England threatened to gain control.
Disputes between the European powers in addition to encroachments on Indian lands led to the uprisings known as King Philip's and St. Castin's Wars. Background information relevant to these hostilities is discussed in depth, including the names of the major players and accounts of many individual incidents.
Volume III: This is an especially valuable work for students of the French and Indian War. The notes alone provide an abundance of further research materials.
As the European powers struggled for control over the New World, the colonists endured wave after wave of brutal Indian attacks. This final volume of the series contains flour separate sections: Queen Anne's War, Lovewell's War, Governor Shirley's War and the French and Indian War.
Queen Anne's War was known in Europe as the War of Spanish Succession. It lasted from 1704 to 1713. Accounts of numerous Indian attacks are given in this section, which is very detailed with names and places of the victims.
Lovewell's War, 1722-1726, came about as the militant Jesuit missionary, Father Rale encouraged Indians to raid the English. Settlers, in retaliation, collected up to £100 for bringing in the scalp of an Indian.
The French again declared war on England in 1744. Governor Shirley's War was known by these other names: the Spanish or Five Years' War, War of Austrian Succession and King George's War. Funds were appropriated for forts along the frontier, but attacks on the colonists continued as in the previous wars.
The "final" French and Indian War was officially declared in 1756, Major events included the attack on Fort #4 (Charlestown, NH), the capture of Forts Frontenac and Niagara, the second fall of Louisbourg, the climactic battle for Quebec upon the Plains of Abraham, and the decimation of the St. Francis Indian village by Robert Rogers and his Rangers.
This is a fascinating chronicle of important turning points in American history. The exhaustive notes in this volume are as interesting as the main narrative.
Volume 1: 528 pages. Volume 2: 625 pages. Volume 3: 703 pages. Paperbound. No DJ. New Condition.

French & Indian War
Prisoner in Louisbourg $6.50
Zillah & Colin MacDonald
Toronto: MacMillan of Canada 1966, 1944
A historical novel of the battle of Louisbourg.
(from the back cover) Bostontown, 1745. From the wide windows of Feathertale John’s sail-making shop all of the busy harbour could be seen. Here the sailors gathered, to talk of England’s war with France, and to learn the latest news of Morpain, a privateer who ravaged the colonists’ ships off the Newfoundland coast. Morpain’s shelter was the French fortress of Louisbourg, on Cape Breton — cold, forbidding, and, it was said, impregnable.
Nobody in Bostontown was more fiercely interested in Louisbourg than 17-year-old Eben de Gervais, for Eben’s father had been one of Morpain’s victims. Now, with his older brother Aaron, and Antoinette, the pretty ward of Governor Shirley, he dreamed of the capture of the great fortress. They formed the Secret Society of the Red Hats — and their secret was a map of Louisbourg.
Then Morpain struck again. Antoinette was kidnapped, and the vital map stolen. Before long Eben was plunged into the terror and adventure of battle as the New Englanders stormed Louisbourg. In disguise, he penetrated to the heart of the fortress. And there, in a deep dungeon, he met his most dangerous enemy— and he solved the mystery of Morpain.
231 pages, 6x9 softbound

Manuscripts of the French and Indian War in the Library of the A. A.S. $15.00
Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society Vol. XI
Johnson Reprint Corporation, 1971, Reprint of 1909
Table of Contents: The Sir William Johnson Manuscripts, The Col. Bradstreet Manuscripts, Additional Manuscripts of the French and Indian War, The Lieut. William Henshaw Orderly Book.
267 pages, 6x9 softbound

The Fantastic Breed $15.00
Leon Phillips
NY, Doubleday & Co, 1968, Preview bound.
(from the end flaps) "Shortly before dawn on the morning of April 12, 1745, a fleet of more than 110 ships approached Gabarus Bay on the southeastern shore of Cape Breton Island. On board was a force of 4,200 men, British sailors under the command of Commodore Sir Peter Warren and American colonial militiamen led by Major General William Pepperrell. The expedition's goal was nothing less than awesome. Provoked by French-inspired Indian raids on frontier settlements, colonial leaders, with British support, had gambled on dealing the enemy a blow so devastating that they would be compelled to cease all hostilities in the New World. The combined British and American colonial troops were to attack and capture the French fortress of Lousiburg-the most powerful bastion in the Americas.
For 46 days the hastily trained, inadequately provisioned invaders laid siege to the great citadel, their cannon chipping away at its massive, star-shaped stone walls. The men endured terrible hardships. They had little to eat, their clothing soon became ragged, and they slept in the open, on damp, swampy ground. During the campaign nearly half their number were stricken by a virulent fever.
But thanks to their determination and to the inspired leadership of men such as General Pepperrell, his deputy, General Samuel Waldo, Commodore Warren, and the fiery Colonel William Vaughan who had originally suggested the attack, the expedition achieved the impossible. On June 22 the Governor of Lousiburg, Admiral Louis Dupont du Chambon, surrendered his command, and his battleweary professional troops marched out onto the plain south of the fortress to be taken prisoner.
Louisburg had fallen and French power in North America was thereafter seriously limited. But the capture of Louisburg had another profound consequence as well. The campaign marked the first time men from various colonies worked, fought, and died side by side, and the experience gave them an unprecedented feeling of unity, a sense of being Americans. Leon Phillips tells the dramatic story of this little-known campaign with great skill and in doing so evokes a significant page in American history."
213 pp. Illus, 6x9 hardbound good condition, dj is rubbed and has some light scratches

Revolutionary War

Revolutionary War Genealogy $10.00
George K. Schweitzer, Ph.D., Sc.D.
1987
Millions of Americans have Revolutionary War ancestors. This book will help you locate useful records to find your ancestors who fought in Revolution. The following is a brief outline.
Chapter 1 The History of the War: introduction, background, origins, geography, battles, conclusion and Recommended Readings.
Chapter 2 the Archives: National Archives, service records, pension records, bounty land records, state archives and other archives.
Chapter 3 National Publications: libraries, rolls, rosters, lists, pension lists, claims, bounty land, burial and prison histories.
Chapter 4 State Publications: rosters, pay records, military histories, biographies, memoirs, manuscripts.
Chapter 5 Local Sources: place of enlistment, post-war Residences and Place of death.
Chapter 6 Histories, Individual, Regimental Battle, State and Group: tracing war experiences, field records, regimental, battle, compendiums and maps.
Chapter 7 Sites Museums and Memories: libraries, historic sites, museums, panoramas, patriotic organizations, pictures and books.
110 pages, 6x9 softbound, new >Mil

A Short History of American Revolution $14.95 (list $23.00 you save $8.05)
James L. Stokesbury
NY: William Morrow & Company, 1991
Prologue, The Causes of the War, Decision and Indecision, Action and Inaction, Creating States and Armies, War in the Grand Manner, The Northern Campaign of 1776, Small Mercies, March and Countermarch, "Agin Burgoyne", The War at Sea, Progression and Regression, The War Moves South, By Land and by Sea, Seasons of Disaster, The Climax of the War, The World War, Peacemaking, Endings and Beginnings.
304 pages, 6x9 hardbound, new

Origins of the American Revolution $12.50
John G. Miller
Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1943
(from the endflaps) "This modern history, drawn from new and diversified sources, tells a story of great interest to Americans. The ten years preceding the Revolution were crucial in the nation’s story and Professor Miller’s history of them differs sharply from conventional accounts. It is commonly admitted that the American Revolution was, in reality, a civil war. But more than this, Professor Miller proves it to have been a conflict between two irreconcilable ideologies, the autocratic and the democratic. The British governing class represented definite convictions and a definite policy. It was far from being irresponsible. It had behind it, at all times, a preponderance of British public opinion.
This book, instead of skimming the surface, gets at the realities of underlying politics on both sides of the Atlantic. Much attention is given to the democratic strivings in the Colonies as a cause for revolution and there are many vivid episodes, such as the battles of the Delanceys and the Livingstons for the control of New York, which are altogether unfamiliar to the ordinary reader. A captivating feature of the book s the series of lifelike portraits of the actors in the struggle. The wooden images of the school books, Lord North, Townshend, Newcastle, Patrick Henry, James Otis, Daniel Dulany, and the rest come palpably to life. One sees them as natural, active, intriguing human beings. A shrewder judgment of popular British opinion of the risks involved is achieved when you listen to General Wolfe’s comments on Colonial soldiers as "in general the dirtiest and most contemptible cowardly dogs you can conceive of. There is no depending on them in action." Or one might hear Richard Henry Lee declare that "real merit and virtue cannot receive its reward in the British Empire."
This volume is no rehash of earlier books. Its prime virtue is that it is writ ten almost entirety from source material, the first time this has been attempted with a subject of such sweep and dimensions as the American Revolution. Common opinion during the period was constantly in flux and this history abounds in picturesque details showing the perpetual clash of fundamental conviction. The Revolution was the opening act of a world drama of democracy and its results determined the course which the centuries will follow."
519 pages, hardbound, dj, wear top edge & bottom spine, VG/G

Baron Von Steubens's Revolutionary War Drill Manual $8.00 (new book)
By Frederick William Baron Von Steuben
Dover Books 1985
A facsimile reprint of the 1794 Edition. It describes in detail the arms and accoutrements of officers and soldiers, formation exercise of a company, instruction of recruits, formation and marching of columns, disposition and firing of fieldpieces, laying out of the camp, inspection, treatment of the sick, review of parade, and other essentials. The volume is further enhanced by reproductions the eight copper plates from the 1794 edition and an appendix (the United States Militia act of 1792).
153 pages, 6x9 softbound

Encyclopedia of the American Revolution $32.95 (New Book)
By Peter Benes
PA: Stackpole 1994 Third Edition
This is a classic. I use this for reference all the time. (From the dust jacket ) Mark M. Boatner's Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, the first complete, authoritative, one-volume reference work on American history from 1763 to 1783, shows the same mastery of material that lent distinction to the author's Civil War Dictionary.
Eminent historians and scholars have worked with Colonel Boatner to check every aspect-political, social, and military - of the American Revolutionary era. This Encyclopedia, the result of exhaustive research, contains alphabetically arranged articles on the people, issues, and events of the day. Approximately one third of the entries are biographical, while the rest cover campaigns, battles, naval actions, and political issues and events, including the participation of the British, French, and Germans. Comprehensive articles- on general topics, such as the background and origins of the war, are filled with cross-references to other entries.
In addition to the informative articles, you'll find: Nine genealogical charts of famous families Fifty-four detailed maps and diagrams. A helpful map index containing more than one thousand geographic names. Bibliographic notes both with entries and at the back of the book Comprehensive in its context, the Encyclopedia of the American Revolution is indispensable to researchers, teachers, students, librarians, and editors-in short, to everyone who is curious about the momentous era of American and world history that engendered the United States.
Mark M. Boatner III, retired US. Army colonel, followed his father and two uncles into West Point and the Regular Army. He wears the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Croix de Guerre for action in Italy and Korea. During his army career he taught military history at West Point and earned a master's degree in international affairs from the Army War College and George Washington University. Boatner's maternal ancestors were in Virginia long before the Revolution, and his father's forebears moved from South Carolina into Louisiana while the Spanish flag was still flying there. Boatner has also written Civil War Dictionary and Landmarks of the American Revolution.
1289 pages 6x9 hardbound (new book) dust jacket

The American Colonies and the British Empire 1607-1763 $4.00
Carl Ubbelohde
Thomas Y. Crowell 1968
Table of contents:
One: Building an Empire,
MOTIVATIONS AND ASSUMPTIONS, THE EARLY PLANTINGS, STEPS TOWARD EMPIRE, THE RESTORATION EMPIRE, REACTION IN AMERICA, A REBELLION IN VIRGINIA, OTHER REBELLIONS,
RESHAPING THE EMPIRE, Two: The Economic Empire, SHIPPING AND STAPLES, THE NORTHERN COMMERCE, INDUSTRIAL REGULATIONS, THE MONEY SUPPLY, AN ASSESSMENT, Three: Imperial Politics and Warfare, THE ROYAL GOVERNOR, THE LOWER HOUSES OF ASSEMBLY, COLONISTS AND GOVERNMENT, THE EMPIRE IN WAR, THE COLONIES AND WAR, A SUMMING UP, Bibliographical Essay,
112 pages, softbound

The World Almanac of the American Revolution $18.95 (New Book)
Edited by L. Edward Purcell & David F. Burg
NY: Pharos Books 1992.
(from the back cover) "No other period of American history, with the possible exception of the Civil War, rivals the Revolution in importance. Begun in 1775 as disorganized, local violence in a dispute over rights and taxes, it escalated into a full scale armed conflict; by the time the Treaty of Paris was singed in 1783 --after six years of war---a new nation had emerged. To bring it all into focus, the publishers of The World Almanac® have compiled all of the fascinating details of America's war of Independence---and the period in American history that surrounded it---into a fully illustrated book in an easy -to-use almanac format. ....Featuring:
Chronological day-by-day entries, beginning with the first shots at Lexington Green in April 1775, all the way through to the signing of the Treaty of Paris 1783;
Informative essays on the nature of warfare in the eighteenth century; types of weaponry employed; mercenaries who fought in the war; opposition political parties; life in the war zones; and other details which help bring the period to vivid life;
A comprehensive section of biographies, highlighting all important figures--military, civilian and political--of the war.
Enhanced throughout by period illustrations and featuring eight pages of full color.
386 pages, 6x9 softbound

The American Revolution 2 Volumes $39.95
John Fiske
Boston, Mass: Houghton, Mifflin and Company 1901
The classic study of the Revolutionary war. Illustrated with portraits maps, facsimiles, contemporary views, prints and other historic materials in two volumes.
Vol. 1, 321 pages, Vol. 2, 351 pages, Hardbound, Green cloth, good condition, some foxing.

America's Birthday- A Planning & Activity Guide for Citizens' participation during the Bicentennial Years $6.95
The Peoples Bicentennial Commission 1974
This book is a blast from the past. For those not into nostalgia there are lots of eighteenth century illustrations that could be scanned. (from the back cover) "PEOPLES BICENTENNIAL COMMISSION is a nonprofit public foundation that was established in the belief that America's 200th birthday could become more than just a celebration of consumerism and self-congratulation, that it could stimulate a renewed understanding and commitment to the democratic ideals that shaped the birth of America.
This lavishly illustrated workbook presents programs for an alternative bicentennial celebration. It maps out plans for working with neighborhood groups in order to bring about fundamental changes around the country. America's Birthday includes a history of democratic movements in the USA, along with programs for organizing around local political issues, and researching local power structures; how to involve high schools and universities, and how to become involved with bicentennial programming for radio, television and film as well as newspapers and magazines. Finally, it explains what you as an individual in your own community can do to create a new sense of commitment to the original revolutionary principles of 1776."
189 pages, 9x12 softbound

Encyclopedia of British Provincial, and German Army Units 1775-1783 $39.95
Stackpole Books 1973
The profile of each unit includes founding date, are from which they came, service during the war, uniform notes and designations and commanding officers. There are 25 photos and 40 line drawings.
1 inch tear in back dust jacket
160 Pages, hard cover with dust jacket

Civil War Books

Massachusetts in the Civil War Volume III $3.50 & 0.75 s&h
Edward W. Ellsworth
Boston: Mass. Civil War Centennial Commission, 1962
A year of Crisis 1862-1863
48 page pamphlet, 2 stains on back cover, some fading, good condition

The Civil War Source Book - A Traveler's Guide $15.00 *
By Chuck Lawliss
Harmony Books 1991
"Whether you are a novice or an experienced Civil War buff, The Civil War Sourcebook is your essential reference. From touring battlefields to collecting memorabilia, it will answer all your questions about where to go to find what you're looking for. In these pages you'll discover, for example, which battlefields are worth visiting, how to get to there, and whether reenactments are held; you'll even find such details as how best to tour the battlefield and how much time to allow."
308 pages softbound

Tracing Your Civil War Ancestor $10.00 *
By Bertram Hawthorne Groene
His own research experience and the profuse number of illustrations makes for an interesting and enjoyable book. The book is especially helpful if you wish to trace the owner of Civil War weapons and equipment. The author gives several examples of locating information on soldiers whose names were inscribed on guns and swords.
Included in the book are details on using the National Archives, State Archives, how to use the Official Records of the Union and Confederate armies in the War of the Rebellion and Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, going beyond official records - your guide to million of pages, personnel files and rosters, acquiring and identifying Civil War equipment and examples of research.
Appendices include:
A. Institutions that hold Microfilmed service records from the National Archives.
B. Source books for regimental histories and rosters.
C. Source books for identifying Civil War weapons and accoutrements.
D. A selected bibliography.
119 Pages 6x9 soft bound.

Irish Green and Union Blue: The Civil War Letters of Peter Welsh $27.50
Edited by Lawrence Frederick Kohl with Margaret Cossé Richard
Peter Walsh was color sergeant in the 28th Massachusetts Volunteers. This book gives a good feel for the times.
170 pages, 6x9 hardcover

History of the Nineteenth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865 $60.00
Issued by the History Committee, Salem Press 1906, Reprint 1986 Butternut and Blue.
This history of the Nineteenth Regiment Mass. Volunteers, is a concise narrative of it's nearly four years of service at the "front," in the Third Brigade, Second Division, Second Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. It was prepared under the supervision of a committee, appointed by vote of the regimental association at the reunion held August 28, 1894.
456 pages, 6x9 hardcover

Sleeper's Tenth Massachusetts Battery $60.00
By John D. Billings A member of the Company. Author of Hard Tack and Coffee
Arakelyan Press 1909, Reprint 198?, Butternut and Blue.
26 portraits, 12 maps and sketches. History of the Tenth Massachusetts Battery 1861-1865.
496 pages, hard cover, dust jacket Acid-free paper

My Dear Wife - The Civil War Letters of David Brett Union Cannoneer, 9th Massachusetts. $32.00
Edited by Frank P. Deane
Little Rock, Arkansas: Pioneer Press 1964
(from the end flaps) The Civil War letter of David Brett, Union Cannoneer, 9th Massachusetts Battery, Army of the Potomac, departs from the traditional ) pattern of Civil War Books.
Mr. Deane, who found the letters quite by accident, has, in his editing, preserved the flavor and homespun philosophy of the originals. The spelling and grammatical construction, or lack of it, are recaptured as David Brett wrote to is family a hundred years ago.
What the common soldier thought, what his troubles and tribulations were, what he worried clout, how he missed his home life, hat he saw and did, how he lived ~ the field, his reactions to the ) horrors of War-all are graphically described in David Brett's letters. The picture he paints so well can be :tended to give a sympathetic in),-ht into the War years of all other soldiers who fought in United Sates' great Civil War.
Fifty-two letters to his wife, and a few to other members of the family make up Mr. Deane's book. The summaries of War years and footnote explanations of vague references preserve the continuity. Contemporary photographs, battle maps and sketches-thirty-four of them carefully selected-add especial values to "My Dear Wife . . .".
The words of David Brett make the book come alive. No Civil War buff or library should be without it. The Publisher
137 pages, hardbound, dust jacket, price clipped, closed tears, streak on back cover, good condition.

Civil War Letters of George Washington Whitman $25.00
Edited by Jerome M. Loving
Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1975
(from the endflaps) The Civil War letters and diary of George Washington Whitman have been edited primarily with regard to the impact the war had on Walt Whitman. Until the publication of this volume, little attention has been given to the fact that the poet's own brother survived many of the bloodiest campaigns of the war. George Whitman fought as an officer commissioned from the ranks in such battles as Second Bull Run, Antietam, First Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, the Wilderness, and Petersburg-where he was captured and later confined in the notorious Libby Prison and other Confederate prisoner-of war camps.
All of the letters and the diary were initially preserved by Walt Whitman, who closely followed his brother's military career and at times even celebrated its history in anonymous newspaper articles. In one, written upon the release of George Whitman from Confederate custody, the poet wrote: "He has journeyed as a soldier . . . over twenty thousand miles; and has fought under Burnside, McClellan, McDowell, Meade, Pope, Hooker, Sherman, and Grant."
For those mainly interested in Whitman biography, the candor of George and of the other Whitmans (featured in the notes) is particularly illuminating. For students of the Civil War, the letters provide vivid accounts not only of famous battles but also of the earlier and lesser known campaigns -Roanoke Island and New Bern, North Carolina.
One of the most distinctive features of the Letters, however, is Mr. Loving's historical introduction. It summarizes widely scattered information about the Whitman family and traces the efforts of the poet and his family to gain George Whitman's release from prison.
173 pages, hardbound, dust jacket, very good condition

Winchester War Records - Civil - Spanish American - World $45.00 (see description in W.W.I section)

They Fought for the Union $45.00
By Francis A. Lord, Ph. D. (Author of The Civil War Collectors Encyclopedia)
Greenwood Press, Publishers
Westport, Connecticut 1981
Reprint of the 1960 edition
"Who will tell the story,
Now the Boys in Blue are gone?
"To this refrain of the old song Dr. Lord has made a definitive and full response in They Fought For the Union. It is not an attempt to retell the history of the Civil War, not another account of campaigns and battles fought or of leaders and the armies they led, but a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the Union soldiers and their officers, a complete factual background of the war and its impact on those who took part in it. It is made up of information from many various sources which no one could duplicate without devoting years of his life to the search. On many subjects it fills a gap for which "Civil War Buffs" and the general reader interested in the war will be grateful.
Table of contents
375 pages, 9x12 hardbound This book was bought new for $90.00, it is in good condition

The Siege of Charleston 1861-1865 $11.95
E. Milby Burton
Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press 1970 (seventh printing 1994)
(from the back cover) On April 12, 1861, Fort Sumter was fired upon by the Confederate batteries located around the Charleston Harbor. Within thirty-four hours, the fort had surrendered. From that moment on, the recapturing of Fort Sumter became one of the Union's most important objectives. Nearly four years elapsed before the Northern forces were successful. The siege of Charleston provides the complete history of those four important years in the history of the Civil War.
373 pages, softbound

Free At Last - A Documentary History of Slavery, Freedom and the Civil War $12.75 (In Print $27.50)
Edited by Ira Berlin, Barbara J. Fields, Steven F. Miller, Joseph P. Reidy, and Leslie S. Rowland.
Edison, New Jersey: The Blue & Press 1997
Free at Last brings together some of the most remarkable letters ever written by Americans. Made affordable and widely available for the first time, these letters, along with personal testimony, official transcripts, and other records, are drawn from the award-winning landmark reference volumes originally published by Cambridge University Press under the title Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation.
With great immediacy, the letters depict the drama of emancipation in the midst of the nation's bloodiest conflict, and convey the struggle of black men and women to overthrow the slave system, to aid the Union cause as laborers and soldiers, and to give meaning to their newly won freedom in a war-torn nation. The documents also show the active role of slaves and former slaves in transforming a war for the Union into a war against slavery, demonstrating, according to the Journal of American History, "that the destruction of slavery was accomplished though black self-determination." Perhaps most importantly, the documents vividly demonstrate how emancipation transformed the lives of all Americans, black and white.
Described in The New York Times Book Review as "this generation's most significant encounter with the American past," the documents in Free at Last have also been called by William S. McFeeley "rich sources for the understanding of the complex and inspiring story of how black Americans ... achieved their freedom."
Ira Berlin, professor of History at the University of Maryland and former director of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project, is coeditor of the first four volumes of Freedom and the author of Slaves Without Masters. Barbara J. Melds, professor of History at Columbia University, is coeditor of one of the first four volumes of Freedom and the author of Slavery and Freedom on the Middle Ground. Steven F. Miller, research associate at the University of Maryland, is coeditor of two of the first four volumes of Freedom. Joseph P. Reidy, professor of History at Howard University, is coeditor of the first four volumes of Freedom and the author of From Slavery to Agrarian Capitalism in the Cotton-Plantation South. Leslie S. Rowland, director of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project and professor of History at the University of Maryland, is coeditor of the first four volumes of Freedom
571 pages, hardbound, dust jacket has a ½ inch piece missing at bottom of spine. ¼ tear in cloth on spine bottom, red line across tail, other than that the book is in very good condition

Hospital Sketches $4.00
Alcott, Louisa May
Applewood Books 1993 reprint, 1863
Louisa May Alcott writes of her experiences as a nurse during the Civil War.
These sketches taken from letters hastily written in the few Leisure moments of a very busy life, make no pretension to literary merit, but are simply a brief record of one persons hospital experience. As such, they are republished, with their many faults but particularly amended lest in retouching they should lose whatever force or freshness the inspiration of the time may have given them.
To those who have objected to a "tone of levity" in some portions of the sketches, I desire to say that the wish to make the best of every thing, and send home cheerful reports even from the saddest of scenes, an army hospital, probably produced the impression of levity upon those who have never known the sharp contrasts of the tragic and comic in such a life... L M A Concord, March 1869
96 pages, Paperback, good condition

Rifled Infantry Arms $19.95
J. Schön. Dresden 1855. Translated from the German by J. Gorgas, Captain of Ordnance, United States Army.
Reprinted Springfield, Mass., USA, 1986
A Brief Description of the Modern System of Small Arms as adopted by The Various European Armies
48 pages plus 13 fold out plates, 9x12 softbound, good condition, corners bumped.

Civil War Prisons
Twenty Months in Captivity $38.00 (out of print)
Memoirs of a Union Officer in Confederate Prisons
Bernard Domschke, edited and translated by Frederic Trautmann
Associated University Press, 1987
(from the dust jacket) This book recounts vividly the experiences of a captain in the Confederate Prisons for Union officers during the Civil War. The author, Bernhard Domschcke, captured with the 26th Wisconsin Infantry at Gettysburg, before his exchange on 1 March 1865 took the "customary officers' circuit" through all of those Confederate prisons: Libby, Danville life, Macon, Savannah, Charleston, and Columbia. Written in German in the same year as his release, Domschcke's perceptive and comprehensive report is published here for the first time in English
Educated in Germany, Domschcke had been a first-rate and influential editor of German-language newspapers in Milwaukee before he enlisted in the Union army to fight the slavery that he so hated. Once captured, he retained his journalist acumen and continued to practice his editorial and reportorial skills. By taking an active part in prison life, he was able to observe closely and record systematically the prisons' people, customs, and events. His accuracy and dispassion, coupled with it keen eye for detail, resulted in an uncompromising expose of historic significance. Furthermore, his colorful style is technically excellent; indeed, of' all the Civil War memoirists, none were his equal in education and experience, none more qualified to memorialize the ordeals of Union officers in Confederate prisons
Written from recent experience, Domschcke's text is both immediate and authoritative. He balances praise for the good and censure for the evil, and combines descriptions of' outward phenomena and workaday events with sensitive evaluations of prisoners' feelings, attitudes, and emotional conflicts. Thus, his account of conditions presents not only the specifics of everyday prison life. but also thoughtful passages of general reflection, not only on what the prisoners had to eat but also of Domschcke's insights into the relations of prisoners with each other and with the guards.
Calmly and directly, Domschcke comments on slavery, the Confederate soldier, and Southern society itself, as well as adding evidence to the Sanderson controversy, one of the scandals of Union Officers in Confederate Prisons. Because of the relatively long period covered, twenty months, the author is able to trace the important shift in the Confederates' treatment of prisoners-from kinder to harsher.
The translation and publication of this credible and fascinating account, one of the few to appear in recent times and thus to benefit from modern scholarship, constitutes it significant contribution to the literature of the Civil War, and is supplemented and illuminated by Frederic Trautmann's detailed introduction and extensive annotations.
175 pages, hardbound, dust jacket, as new

John Ransom's Andersonville Diary $10.00
John Ransom with an introduction by Bruce Catton
New York: Berkley Books, 1994 (originally published 1881)
"Here is a tale uncommonly rich in the love of life," writes Bruce Catton in his introduction to John Ransom's Diary. "It is one of the best of the many fine first-hand accounts that have come down to us from the Civil War. It is the humanity of the narrator, his vitality, his humor, his affection for the living, that underscore the whole vast tragedy around him and, a century later, make it come alive before our eyes.
"John L. Ransom, Brigade Quartermaster of the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, was only twenty years old when he became a prisoner of war in eastern Tennessee in 1863. He had everything to live for, and much to live with. Happily, he wrote as if he didn't think of himself as a budding author. A war was on, and he was in it, and things were happening that seemed worth putting down from day to day. The result is a straightforward diary, free of the embroideries and purple passages of many an author of the time, professional as well as would-be.
"Ransom's diary gives us a vivid and valuable picture of life in Confederate prisons, and it brings out two important aspects of that picture which most personal, eye-witness accounts fail to reveal. For this book shows that much of the suffering undergone by Union men in Confederate camps was of their own making. Lack of discipline, low morale, and on the part of a small but hell-raising minority low morals, seem to have added heavily to the burdens imposed upon these northerners by their southern captors.
"Moreover, though Ransom is held in Andersonville until he is near the point of death, he does get out at last, he does get into a decent hospital, he does get the care and food that enable him to recover; and all this, not in the North, but behind Southern lines. In other words, the book gives two sides of the picture-one of them widely neglected in the war literature.
"It is sometimes said, by way of recommendation, that a book of nonfiction 'reads like a novel.' This is not praise enough for a tale of adventure, of suspense from beginning to end, of fierce hate and great love, of the incredible callousness of man and the incredible warmth of men-with the added knowledge 'it really happened.' For the match of young John Ransom's diary, one must look long among the novels of our time."
281 pages, softbound (new)

This Was Andersonville $19.95
John McElroy, Edited by Roy Meredith
New York: Bonanza Books © 1958
The Andersonville Military Prison is here presented in a narrative packed with excitement, John McElroy, who was in the first contingent of Union prisoners sent to Andersonville and who survived all its terrors, tells this true Story in outspoken words.
A former journalist for the Toledo Blade, .John McElroy enlisted in Company L, 16th Illinois Cavalry. McElroy, with a detachment of his regiment, was guarding a supply route to Cumberland Gap when his entire company was captured in a surprise attack one morning during the winter of 1862-63. He and his comrades were taken to Lippy Prison. and front there they were sent to Andersonville
McElroy spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. His story of attempts at escape, of comrades tracked through cypress swamps by packs of vicious dogs, and of the everyday struggle . just to stay alive, is one of the great stories of the Civil War.
The reader is brought face to face with General John H. Winder, who boasted of "killing more Yankees than twenty regiments of Lee's Army," and Captain Henry Wirz, commandant of Andersonville, who was tried by a military tribunal and hanged for war crimes.
Here, in word and Picture, is the incredible story of soldiers, 41,000 of them, packed in an open stockade and of their struggle to live, winter and summer, without shelter and with little food. Among the host of characters who live or (die on these pages is "Flagstaff," the tallest man in the camp: "Old Sailor" and "Chicken"; "Little RedCap," the drummer boy, favorite of the camp; the tunnel diggers; and Boston Corbett, the soldier who was later credited with shooting John Wilkes Booth in Garrett's barn.
This Was Andersonville is a document of unrivaled importance to all collectors of Americana as well as to students of the Civil War and the general reader.
Illustrated with 25 pages of rare Photographs more than half printed here for the first time as well as 24 full-page drawings.
354 pp.; hardbound; dust jacket; VF/VG

Civil War Magazines

Civil War Times Illustrated $4.00 per issue
Issues were not printed in September & March. When time permits I will detail what is in each issue.
1975, August
1977, February, April, May, July, October, November
1978, January, February, May, June, July, August, November, December
Special Issues: The Battle of Chancellorsville, The Battle of Fredericksburg

Spanish American War

Winchester War Records - Civil - Spanish American - World $55.00 (see description in W.W.I section)

The War with Spain $19.95 (hardback is out of print, Paperback goes for 29.95)
By David F. Trask.
New York: Macmillan 1981
This is part of the Macmillan wars of of the United States series. If you have an ancestor who fought in the war with Spain this will give you a good understanding of the conflict.
S293 654 pages 6x9 hardbound (new book) no dust jacket

World War I

New England Aviators 1914-1915 $59.95
Penn: Shiffer, 1997
Each aviator has a wartime biography and most have a picture.
Table of Contents: List of Aviators
Introduction: By A. Lawrence Lowell
The Faces Of The Aviators. By Joseph Edgar Chamberlin
First Pursuit Group. By Lieutenant James Knowles, Jr.
First Day Bombardment Group
Twentieth Aero Squadron, First Day Bombardment Group. By Lieu tenant Karl C. Payne
A Bit Of Unintentional "Acrobatics." By Lieutenant Samuel P. Mandell
The Last Raid. By Lieutenant Gardiner H. Fiske
Ninety-Sixth Aero Squadron, First Day Bombardment Group. By Lieutenant Arthur Hadden Alexander
Eleventh Aero Squadron. By Lieutenant Paul S. Greene
Aviators.
472 pages, 6x9 hardbound, new. NE/MIL

Winchester War Records - Civil - Spanish American - World $45.00
Published by the Town of Winchester 1925
Each section starts with a description of Winchesters participation in the war. Then follows a list of Winchester people who served with various service information. The W.W.I section lists parents names, birth dates and place, along with a brief service record. Also included are a number of illustrations.
Table of Contents
184 pages, hardbound

General Military
Generals in Muddy Boots $10.95 (in print at $29.95)
Dan Cragg
New York: Berkley Books, 1996
(from the end flaps) Alexander the Great. George Patton. Napoleon. Robert E. Lee. Joan of Arc. Genghis Khan. These are the military leaders who forged the course of history. Who brought out the absolute best not only in themselves, but in countless others, Who thousands of soldiers fought with, died for, and loved. These are the generals who walked the battlefields in muddy boots-the legends Walter J. Boyne describes as "the fighting generals, in the front lines with the troops, standing with them amongst the whine of shell and the whistle of bullet, seeing their friends fall and die."
Retired U.S. Army Sergeant Major Dan Cragg has written more than three hundred original biographies of the most courageous and skilled combat commanders who ever lived. Presented in collaboration with The Army Times Publishing Company, the premier publishers of independent newspapers for the military community, these biographies bring the dramatic true stories of history's greatest generals to life in a way never before achieved in a single volume.
Illustrated with photographs and drawings, Generals in Muddy Boots is a monument to leaders who were also doers-and a timeless and fascinating resource that no military buff, student, or scholar should be, without
196 pages, hardbound, very fine condition

Army Engineers in New England, 1775-1975 $18.00
Aubrey Parkman
1978. United States Army Corps of Engineers - New England Division, Waltham, Mass
Table of contents:
Foreword
Preface
Narrow Redoubts and Granite Casemates
Civil Works Begin
The Districts and the Division
Navigable Rivers and Safe Harbors
The Cape Cod Canal
New Harbor Defenses
A Larger Military Mission
Flood Control
Designs for Hydroelectric Power
New Challenges and Tasks
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
259 pages, 6x9 hardbound, Appendix, 22 pages. Notes, bibliography, index, Condition: Ex-library; Text block stamps, call number, sticker on cover. Price reflects condition.

This page last updated January 25, 2008