Civil War Fiction

The bitter conflict between the Union and Confederacy, spanning four terrible years from 1861 to 1865, brought the United States of America to the brink of annihilation. A war based on perceived tyranny and rebellion gave birth to many contradictions, where deceit ran rampant on both sides. Within this environment, it is known that at least four hundred women enlisted as soldiers under the pretense of being men, from both the North and South. Brave men who gave their lives for either side were not the war’s only heroes, and this story is dedicated to these remarkable women.

The Burning Land follows a turbulent romance through the upheavals of the Civil War and America's westward migration. Henry Overstreet, a carpenter, aims to scale the social ladder in Waldoboro, Maine, in his pursuit of Katie Nash. The lovers' path runs through America's bloodiest war—one fought to redeem the nation's soul by freeing a people. Often separated, they use quiet and devoted letters to capture each other's heart as Katie wins teaching jobs usually reserved for men and Henry fights furious battles with Maine's legendary Twentieth Regiment, rising to sergeant.

One of the great war novels, The Red Badge of Courage describes the first experience of front-line combat through the eyes of a young recruit, Henry Fleming, in one of the battles of the American Civil War. Under the stress of battle, Fleming is forced to face strong, conflicting emotions, ranging from bravado to terror as the conflict ebbs and flows.

This was the American Civil War for many who lived it, overwhelming and ultimately tragic, viewed through the eyes of a courageous youth and an unforgettable young woman.

Listen to Confederate Girl's Diary with a movie-style soundtrack and amplify your audiobook experience. Sarah Morgan Dawson was a young woman of 20 living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when she began this diary. The American Civil War was raging. Though at first the conflict seemed far away, it would eventually be brought home to her in very personal terms.

Ryan Shanley prefers to be called Shan. It's not much, but it helps put some distance between his life during and after serving in the Union army. And he'll put even more distance between the two once he arrives in the Wyoming Territory, where he has a land grant for two square miles. On the stage to Tico, the town nearest his ranch, he meets Sarahlee Gordon. She was only planning to visit Wyoming long enough to sell the cabin she inherited from her uncle. But the attraction between the two becomes obvious on the stage and grows after they arrive.

Robert E. Lee is remembered by history as a tragic figure, stoic and brave but distant and enigmatic. Using dozens of previously unpublished letters as departure points, Pryor produces a stunning personal account of Lee's military ability, his beliefs, and his time, shedding new light on every aspect of the complex and contradictory general's life story.

Union General William Tecumseh Sherman came right through her yard on their march to the sea in 1864, just as they had other plantations. But the widow mistress of Georgia's Burge Plantation was no typical southern belle. She was a Maine-born transplant with 100 slaves. Here, in Dolly Sumner Lunt's own words, is a description of those days as she watched everything she had and believed in being threatened by an army she described as invaders.

This is the story of 12-year-old Annie Jewel Bounds, taken from letters and publications of the time; the story of a girl who would have gone off to war with her father, but when he is lost in battle, she convinces her mother to allow her to dress as a Yankee drummer boy and march off with a unit that will be discharged in just six weeks. Her adventure places her in the thick of the fire and smoke at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. Fought on August 10, 1861, it is the first battle of the Civil War.

Washington City, 1862: The United States lies in tatters, and there seems no end to the war. Abraham Lincoln, the legitimate president of the United States, is using all his will to keep his beloved land together. But Lincoln's will and soul are tested when tragedy strikes the White House: Willie Lincoln, the love and shining light in the president's heart, is taken by typhoid fever. But was this really the cause of his death? A message arrives suggesting otherwise.

My two great-grandfathers, Jasper Smith and Ellwood Janney, served in the 18th Michigan Infantry during the American Civil War. In 1864 the 18th found itself in Decatur, Alabama, way down south across the Tennessee River. There, along with newly organized Black Union soldiers, they had to stop Confederate forces under General Hood and the notorious Nathan Bedford Forrest. Had they failed, Nashville likely would have fallen into Confederate control and caused the defeat of President Lincoln in the looming election.

This delightful collection includes the favorite rhymes and riddles that have been passed down from generation to generation.

As a teenage girl, Ginny marries Linus Lancaster, her mother's second cousin, and moves to his Kentucky pig farm "ninety miles from nowhere." In the shadows of the lush Kentucky landscape, Ginny discovers the empty promises of Linus' "paradise" - a place where the charms of her husband fall away to reveal a troubled man and cruel slave owner. Ginny befriends the young slaves Cleome and Zinnia who work at the farm - until Linus' attentions turn to them, and she finds herself torn between her husband and only companions.

In this missive Ambrose Bierce recounts two days in his life, April 6 and April 7, 1862, perhaps the two most significant days of his life. He and over 100,000 other combatants have gathered about a small church near the town of Corinth, "a wretched place--the capital of a swamp, two days' march west of the Tennessee River". The church is Shiloh, and it will lend its name to the great battle that took place there.

While the conflict over slavery was a factor in the Civil War, the abolition of slavery did not become a stated objective until Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863. Now, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Proclamation, here is a new, unabridged audio recording of that historic document, freeing the slaves held in the still Confederate-controlled states. Heralded as one of America's most significant documents, this is a piece of history not to be missed.

With the outbreak of Civil War, two slave brothers embark on a quest. Aided by the abolitionist underground movement, they escape the confines of the plantation to enlistment into the famed 54th Massachusetts colored infantry. Facing prejudice, their bravery under fire against the Confederate army, earning them respect from their white colleagues. The heroism of the 54th would forever go down in history.

1858, Fort Gibson, Indian Territory. 2nd Lieutenant Dobey Walls meets and bonds with veteran Corporal Jimmy Melton. As the Civil War begins, they leave to join the 8th Texas Cavalry in Houston, then take part in the first and the final charges of the Army of Tennessee. Between those events, they ride with Nathan Bedford Forrest, play an honorable role in the Fort Pillow Massacre, harass Sherman with Shannon's Raiders, and visit the second best brothel in Atlanta.

Mark was born on the third of July. He grew up believing his birthday had no meaning other than the day he was born. At the end of the school year in the fifth grade, his strict but fair teacher, Mr. Herzog, tells Mark about a great battle that happened on his birthday. His teacher called it, "The defining moment in American history." Mark celebrates his eleventh birthday followed by America's independence in none other than Independence, Missouri.

While the conflict over slavery was a factor in the Civil War, the abolition of slavery did not become a stated objective until President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863. Freeing the slaves held in the still Confederate controlled states, it is heralded as one of America's most significant documents.

It is 1865. The American Civil War is ending. Eighteen years after the famine ship Star of the Sea docked at New York, the daughter of two of her passengers sets out from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on a walk across a devastated America. Eliza Duane Mooney is searching for a youngster she has not seen in four years, one of the 100,000 children drawn into the war. His fate has been mysterious and will prove extraordinary.