Our Favorite Books: Nathan Provost’s Top 5 Books
ECW welcomes back guest author Nathan Provost.
It’s a lot to ask for my favorite books on the American Civil War, but a notable list has deeply resonated with me over the past couple of years. These books, penned by A. Wilson Greene, Adam Badeau, Donald Connelly, Jeffry Wert, and S. Millett Thompson, have not only provided me with a wealth of knowledge on campaigns, armies, and people, but have also sparked a personal connection that I could never rank, only to say it is some of the best.
John M. Schofield and the Politics of Generalship by Donald B. Connelly
There is more to warfare than battles, strategy, and fighting. Connelly goes to great lengths to remind the reader that Schofield’s success came from his political maneuvering and military reforms. Often, I am too focused on the events of battle. Connelly’s work gave me a greater appreciation for Schofield’s role in the military during and after the Civil War.
The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign by A. Wilson Greene
Greene is often noted for his recent work, A Campaign of Giants, but before publishing this titanic book, he wrote about the breakthroughs at Petersburg. I enjoyed reading about VI Corps successes on 2 April 1865. However, Greene reminded me that this success was impossible without the Union attack on the Jones Farm just a week before the breakthrough.
Military History of Ulysses S. Grant: From April, 1861, to April, 1865, Vol. III by Adam Badeau
Adam Badeau wrote the first trilogy of Grant’s military campaigns. He experienced much of the fighting with Grant in the Eastern Theater. However, in Badeau’s third volume, he mentioned Grant’s last act at the tactical level of war. Grant reinforced John Parke’s IX Corps during the Third Battle of Petersburg. This little-known fact took me down a rabbit hole of other primary sources confirming Grant’s involvement in this minor event during the battle.
History of the Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of Rebellion 1861-1865 by S. Millett Thompson
This past year, I visited the archives at Richmond National Battlefield Park for my manuscript covering Grant’s military campaigns. Bert Dunkerly introduced me to this primary source written by a soldier in the 13th New Hampshire. It is one of the most detailed regimental histories I have come across. It provides great detail of terrain in the 1864-1865 battles. It is a must-read regimental history.
The Heart of Hell: The Soldiers’ Struggle for Spotsylvania’s Bloody Angle by Jeffry Wert
Even though I read this book a couple of years ago, it gave me a great impression of the soldier’s battle experience. Both Grant and Lee recognized the gruesomeness of the 12 May assault. A tactical Union victory, it shredded the ranks of the various Union corps and confirmed Lee’s fears of decreasing morale following the Battle of the Wilderness. It gives a perspective of the individual soldiers and what they endured in the engagement. It gives me a better perspective of the soldier’s experience whenever I visit a battlefield.
Nathan Provost received his doctorate from Liberty University and is currently employed as a history teacher at Mill Valley High School.
