Our Favorite Books: Terry Rensel’s Top 5 Books
As someone who reads a lot, and I mean a lot, it is difficult to come up with lists of favorites, as it is always changing. What might be on a favorites list for me changes fairly regularly. With that being the case, here are 5 books that have made deep impressions on me, changed the way that I looked at a battle or a battlefield, or in one case combines two of my personal historical interests.
The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6. 1864 by Gordon Rhea
The kickoff to Rhea’s series on The Overland Campaign, this book really unlocked the battlefield for me.
I had recently moved from Alaska to Fredericksburg for my job, and I was getting up to speed on the battles and battlefields. The physical layout of the modern park, and the way it connects the two parts of the battlefield was a mental block that I had a hard time getting past. This book helped me get past my mental block and got my head wrapped around the fact that the fighting along the Orange Turnpike and the Orange Plank Road were really two separate and distinct engagements.
The Fredericksburg Campaign: Winter War on the Rappahannock by Francis Augustin O’Reilly
I live and work on the Fredericksburg battlefield, and read this leading up to the first year that I was living here during the battle anniversary. It’s a micro-tactical look at the battle, which is something that I enjoy. Having read this helped me understand and get the most out of the anniversary events that first time, especially Frank’s Footsteps of the Irish Brigade tour.
Confederate Raider in the North Pacific: The Saga of the C.S.S. Shenandoah, 1864-65 by Murray Morgan
I was living in Alaska when I read this, as it was recommended to me as one of about a dozen books to read to get a better understanding of Alaska and its history. The audacity of sailing around the world to attack the Union whaling fleet in the arctic, and then making their way back to England after the war was over to avoid the possibility of being tried as pirates is quite a remarkable story.
History of the Eighty-Third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers by Amos Judson
This is one of three regiments from my hometown, and Judson was a member of it from its creation in 1861 until he mustered out in September 1864. He took part of every campaign during that time, and upon returning home from the war he immediately began writing the regimental history. I was surprised at how modern and brisk the book reads, as well as it being a great piece of local history for me.
The American Civil War by Sr. Winston S. Churchill
This combines two of my personal historical favorites, Winston Churchill and the Civil War. This book is taken from his History of the English Speaking Peoples, and is the part of the volume that includes our civil war. Churchill found our civil war fascinating, and on a 1929 trip to this country visited Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania rather than Yorktown. It’s not a comprehensive look at the war, but I enjoyed it none the less.
