Our Favorite Books: Evan Portman’s Top 5 Picks

When Chris Mackowski and Pat Kelly-Fischer pitched the idea of sharing our top 5 favorite Civil War books, I thought “challenge accepted.” But the more I worked and reworked my list, the more difficult it became to narrow down my favorite books (and media). Therefore, this is not an exhaustive list, but a list of some books that have been influential to me and stoked my growing interest in history, which I also recommend to any Civil War enthusiast!

1. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

I would be remiss if I didn’t include a book so formative in my love for history. The Killer Angels (and its companion on the silver screen, Gettysburg) cemented my fascination with the Civil War—and all things Gettysburg! Though fiction, Shaara’s imagery and prose offer one of the most vivid descriptions of the battle. The Killer Angels is an entertaining and evocative entry point to Civil War history for audiences young and old.

2. Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine by Thomas Desjardin

If you’re wondering what The Killer Angels gets right and wrong, particularly about Chamberlain’s 20th Maine, then look no further than Thomas Desjardin’s Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine. This tome is certainly the most comprehensive work on the 20th Maine during the Gettysburg Campaign. Desjardin focuses not only on Chamberlain, but on the entire regiment, from the time it mustered into service to commemoration of the regiment’s action long after the war. Particularly compelling is Desjardin’s use of firsthand accounts from Cpl. William Livermore, Capt. Ellis Spear, Sgt. Hezekiah Long, and others.

3. Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas by John J. Hennessy

John Hennessy’s masterpiece Return to Bull Run is the best study of the Second Manassas Campaign bar none. Its detail and depth make it a must-read for anyone with a vested interest in the Second Battle of Bull Run or the summer of 1862 at large. Hennessy effectively demonstrates the importance of the campaign and provides compelling human-interest stories of its participants. He also captures the politicking of Union commanders like John Pope, Fitz John Porter, and George McClellan that ultimately lead to their defeat, as well as the reliable Confederate leadership of Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, and Stonewall Jackson.

4. Melting Pot Soldiers: The Union’s Ethnic Regiments by William L. Burton

William Burton’s seminal Melting Pot Soldiers adds complexity to the conventional narrative of the Civil War by profiling some of the Union Army’s ethnic regiments. He examines German, Irish, Swiss, and Scandinavian soldiers as well as American ethnic politicians who campaigned for and raised regiments as a means of both assimilation and political gain. Burton’s argues that, without these “melting pot soldiers”—who made up a sizeable portion of Federal armies—the Union would not have won the war.

5. Antietam – The Photographic Legacy of America’s Bloodiest Day by William Frassanito

The grim realities of the Civil War are never more vivid than in Alexander Gardner’s photographs. But the only thing more moving than looking at his photographs is standing in the place where he took them. That’s exactly what William Frassanito’s book allows. He places the photographs to take center stage, while also providing valuable commentary on the photographer and historical context of the fighting and geography of the battlefield. In this way, Frassanito’s book transcends time and place.

Part of a series.