Additional Resources

Selection of resources for further research arranged by exhibit sections, including articles, monographs, primary sources, and documentary films in our Library collections.

Prelude to War 1860-1861

Cullum, G. W. Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. from its Establishment, in 1802, to 1890; with the Early History of the United States Military Academy. 3d ed., rev. and extended (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, 1891), 1:46. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991014653979005711

French, J. W. Practical Ethics. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1865. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/908414655
(http://books.google.com/books?id=Ww1AAQAAMAAJ)

French, J. W. and William Whewell. A Short Course of Instruction in the Practical Part of Ethics. New York: J.F. Baldwin, 1858.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991013048989705711

"Honors to Jefferson Davis as President of the Southern Confederacy."
Chicago Tribune (1860-1872); Chicago, Ill. Feb 19, 1861. https://www.proquest.com/docview/175171607?accountid=15138

Hope, Ian C. A Scientific Way of War: Antebellum Military Science, West Point, and the Origins of American Military Thought. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2015.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014670724505711

Kingsbury, Charles P., and Charles Victor Thiroux. An Elementary Treatise on Artillery and Infantry: Adapted to the Service of the United States: Designed for the Use of Cadets of the U.S. Military Academy, and for Officers of the Independent Companies of Volunteers and Militia. New York: G.P. Putnam, 1849.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991013784749705711

Kirshner, Ralph. 1999. The Class of 1861: Custer, Ames, and Their Classmates After West Point. Carbondale, Ill: Southern Illinois University Press.
https://search-ebscohost-com.usmalibrary.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=45674&site=ehost-live&scope=site

McCrea, Tully, et al. Dear Belle; Letters from a Cadet & Officer to His Sweetheart, 1858-1865. Wesleyan University Press, 1965. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991009925409705711

McEnany, Brian R. For Brotherhood and Duty: The Civil War History of the West Point Class of 1862. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2015. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991005234039705711

Michie, Peter Smith, Emory Upton, and James Harrison Wilson. The Life and Letters of Emory Upton, Colonel of the Fourth Regiment of Artillery, and Brevet Major-General, U. S. Army. New York: D. Appleton and company, 1885.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991008771189705711

Report of the commission appointed under the eighth section of the act of Congress of June 21, 1860, to examine into the organization, system of discipline, and course of instruction of the United States Military Academy at West Point. https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b5474881

Thiroux, Charles Victor. Instruction Theóretique et Pratique d’Artilleŕie: a l’usage des Eĺev̀es de l’Ećole Militaire de Saint-Cyr. Troisiem̀e ed́ition. Paris: Librairie Militaire de J. Dumaine, 1849.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991011795539705711

Schaff, Morris. Spirit of Old West Point, 1858-1862. Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Co., 1907, 1907.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991014577649205711

"The South Carolina Cadets at West Point. West Point, November 9, 1860.” Liberator 30, no. 48 (November 30, 1860): 190.
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=h9k&AN=78369674&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Woods, Lewis E. Fourth Infantry Regiment, Carded Records Showing Military Records of Confederate Organizations, 1903-1927; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organization from the State of Louisiana, National Archives Microfilm Publication M320, roll 137.

Going to War 1861

"Detention of West Point Cadets at Philadelphia: The Philadelphia Press of Yesterday Morning Says:" New York Times (1857-1922), May 09, 1861, 8.
https://search-proquest-com.usmalibrary.idm.oclc.org/news/docview/91596932/fulltextPDF/DCC77878E90B4EE8PQ/1?accountid=15138

Eliot, Ellsworth. West Point in the Confederacy. New York: G.A. Baker & Co., Inc., 1941. https://usma.pri mo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991005054949705711; HathiTrust: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015002154378&view=1up&seq=3

Foote, Lorien. The Gentlemen and the Roughs: Violence, Honor, and Manhood in the Union Army. New York: New York University Press, 2010.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991001152179705711

Gillmore, Quincy Adams, E. S. Sinnott, John Gibbon, and John Adolphus Bernard Dahlgren. “Quincy Adams Gillmore Papers.” 1849. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991003135679705711 (see Letter book, 17 December, 1857 - 23 September 1861)

Justin Behrend, “Rebellious Talk and Conspiratorial Plots: The Making of a Slave Insurrection in Civil War Natchez.” The Journal of Southern History 77.1 (2011): 17–52. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/oajqf8/cdi_proquest_journals_852690807

Paulus, Carl Lawrence. The Slaveholding Crisis: Fear of Insurrection and the Coming of the Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2017. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991010908909705711

Wyatt-Brown, Bertram. The Shaping of Southern Culture: Honor, Grace, and War, 1760s-1890s. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2001. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991002288149705711

The War 1861-1865

Baird, Henry Carey. General Washington and General Jackson, on Negro Soldiers. Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1863. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991010859739705711

Bell, Jack. Civil War Heavy Explosive Ordnance: A Guide to Large Artillery Projectiles, Torpedoes, and Mines. Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 2003. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991014677788605711

Bernstein, Iver. The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/oajqf8/cdi_acls_primary_heb02339_0001_001

Bowery, Charles R., and Ethan S. Rafuse, eds. Guide to the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2014. (especially pp. 31-38) https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991006229779705711

Burton, E. Milby. The Siege of Charleston, 1861-1865. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1970. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991006601089705711

Chick, Sean Michael. The Battle of Petersburg, June 15-18, 1864. Lincoln, Neb.: Potomac Books, 2015. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991005414709705711; https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/petersburg-campaign/

Cook, Adrian. The Armies of the Streets: The New York City Draft Riots of 1863. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2015. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/oajqf8/cdi_proquest_ebookcentral_EBC1915761

Dahlgren, John Adolphus Bernard, and Peter C. Luebke. The Autobiography of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren. Washington, DC: Naval History and Heritage Command, Department of the Navy, 2018.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991003648299705711

Dillard, Philip D. “The Confederate Debate Over Arming Slaves: Views from Macon and Augusta Newspapers.” The Georgia Historical Quarterly 79, no. 1 (1995): 117–146.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/oajqf8/cdi_proquest_journals_1305271906

Durden, Robert Franklin. The Gray and the Black; the Confederate Debate on Emancipation. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991008078209705711

“Drewry’s Bluff,” Richmond National Battlefield Park website https://www.nps.gov/rich/learn/historyculture/drewrys-bluff.htm

Escott, Paul D. “What Shall We Do with the Negro?” Lincoln, White Racism, and Civil War America. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014040349705711

Fort Pillow Massacre, Inquiry and Testimony in the Senate of the United States. May 5, 1864. Washington, D.C: G.P.O., 1864.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991013228109705711; HathiTrust: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/010592806

Gilchrist, Robert Cogdell. The Confederate Defence of Morris Island: Charleston Harbor, by the Troops of South Carolina, Georgia and North Carolina, in the Late War Between the States, with a Map of Morris and Part of Folly Islands, and a Plan of Fort Wagner. Charleston, S.C: The News and courier book presses, 1884. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991002220869705711

Gillmore, Quincy Adams. Engineer and Artillery Operations Against the Defences of Charleston Harbor in 1863: Comprising the Descent Upon Morris Island, the Demolition of Fort Sumter, the Reduction of Forts Wagner and Gregg; with Observations on Heavy Ordnance, Fortifications, Etc. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1865.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991000521689705711

Grant, Ulysses S. (Ulysses Simpson), and E. B. Long. Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant New York, N.Y: Da Capo Press, 1982. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1qmorhd/alma991001026159705711

Greene, A. “Petersburg Campaign”, 2021. In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/petersburg-campaign

Hauptman, Laurence. “John E. Wool and the New York City Draft Riots of 1863: A Reassessment.” Civil War History 49, no. 4 (December 1, 2003): 370–387. http://search.proquest.com/docview/208242331/

Headquarters, Dept. of the East, Special Orders No. 114, July 18, 1863, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901), Ser. 1, 27 (2), 928. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077728255&view=1up&seq=930&skin=2021

Holzer, Harold. et al. Hearts Touched by Fire: The Best of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. 1st ed. New York: Modern Library, 2011.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991010011889705711

Isleib, Charles R., and Jack Chard. The West Point Foundry & the Parrott Gun: a Short History. 1st ed. Fleischmanns, N.Y.: Purple Mountain Press, 2000. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991002480989705711

Johnson, John. The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Including Fort Sumter and the Adjacent Islands, 1863-1865. Charleston, S. C: Walker, Evans & Cogswell, 1890. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991006560079705711; Digital version, made from University of California copy, via Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=WBNCAAAAIAAJ

Jones, Samuel. The Siege of Charleston and the Operations on the South Atlantic Coast in the War Amoung the States. New York: The Neale publishing company, 1911.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991005607489705711; Digital version, made from University of Virginia copy, via Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=0eAgwRwUIgcC&

"Maj. Gen. John E. Wool, U.S. Army, commanding Dept. of the East, New York, N.Y. to E. M. Stanton, Secretary of War, Washington, D.C. July 20, 1863." The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901), Ser. 1, 27 (2), 878-79. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077728255&view=1up&seq=880&sk in=2021

McGruder, Kevin. “A Fair and Open Field: The Responses of Black New Yorkers to the Draft Riots.” Afro-Americans in New York Life and History Vol. 37, no. 2 (July 2013): 7–40. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/oajqf8/cdi_proquest_journals_1428042026

McKay, Ernest A. The Civil War and New York City. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press, 1990. (See especially Chap. 11 “Riot”, pp. 195-215). https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991011777969705711

Melia, Tamara Moser. “Damn the Torpedoes” a Short History of U.S. Naval Mine Countermeasures, 1777-1991. Washington, D.C: Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy, 1991. See especially Chapter 1. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991002210019705711; https://permanent.fdlp.gov/gpo108341/DamnTorpedoesWhole.pdf

Price, James S. The Battle of New Market Heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword. Charleston: History Press, 2011. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991012760209705711

Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 14, South Atlantic Blockading Squadron (April 7, 1863 - September 30, 1863). Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1902; reprint: Harrisburg, PA: National Historical Society, 1987.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924051350936&view=1

Rains, Gabriel James, Peter Smith Michie, and Herbert M. Schiller. Confederate Torpedoes: Two Illustrated 19th Century Works with New Appendices and Photographs. Jefferson, N.C: McFarland & Co., 2011. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991009483219705711

Reports of Draft Riots in New York City, Troy [N.Y.] and Boston, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901), Ser. 1, 27 (2), 875-940. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077728255&view=1up&seq=877&skin=2021

Ripley, Warren. Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co., 1970, esp. Chap. 6 "The Parrott", pp. 109-126. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991009013339705711

Robertson, William Glenn. Back Door to Richmond: the Bermuda Hundred Campaign, April-June 1864. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1987. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991013092499705711

Ross, D. Reid. Lincoln’s Veteran Volunteers Win the War: the Hudson Valley’s Ross Brothers and the Union’s Fight for Emancipation. Albany: Excelsior Editions, 2008.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991007002989705711

Schecter, Barnet. The Devil’s Own Work: The Civil War Draft Riots and the Fight to Reconstruct America. New York: Walker & Co., 2005. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991006201499705711

Schneller, Robert J. “A Littoral Frustration: The Union Navy and the Siege of Charleston, 1863-1865.” Naval War College review 49.1 (1996): 38–60.
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/oajqf8/cdi_jstor_primary_44637808

Strausbaugh, John. City of Sedition: The History of New York During the Civil War. First edition. New York: Twelve, 2016. (See especially Chap. 31, “Grafted into the Army”, pp. 261-266 and Chap. 33, “The Volcano Erupts”, pp. 273-287.) https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991009594149705711

"The President at West Point: His Trip from Washington to West Point and Return-- Proceedings at West Point-- Consultations with Gen. Scott-- Levee at the Hotel Surmises." New York Times (1857-1922), Jun 26, 1862, 8. https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/president-at-west-point/docview/91712623/se-2?accountid=15138

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1880-1901), Ser. I, 40 (2), 658-660. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730269&view=1up&seq=660&skin=2021&q1=658

Wise, Stephen R. Gate of Hell: Campaign of Charleston Harbor, 1863. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1994. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991014239619705711

Youngblood, Norman. The Development of Mine Warfare: A Most Murderous and Barbarous Conduct. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006. https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/1fetnv1/alma991009017199705711

Civil War & Early Reconstruction Era Documentary Films

Disclaimer: The documentary films on this resource list reflect the views of their filmmakers, which may not accurately represent the historic root causes of the American Civil War and how it was fought. Their inclusion here does not constitute endorsement by the United States Military Academy Library.

Aftershock: Beyond the Civil War (2006)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014642039405711
Using archival images, dramatizations, and scholarship, this film presents the aftermath of the Civil War during the Reconstruction period. (90 minutes)

American Experience. Death and the Civil War (2012)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014733439205711
With the Civil War and the staggering casualties, death entered the experience of the American people as it never had before- permanently altering the character of the republic and the psyche of the American people. Based on the book, This Republic of Suffering by historian Drew Gilpin Faust. (118 minutes)

The Battle and Siege of Vicksburg (2000)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638735505711
This film, part of The History Channel's series, Civil War Journal, uses diary entries, photographs and dramatic re-enactments to depict the personal stories of the War Between the States and recounts how General Ulysses S. Grant's Union forces bombarded and cut off supplies from the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi. (24 minutes)

The Battle of Chancellorsville (2005)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014642689905711
The Union Army launches a massive assault on the Confederates at Chancellorsville, Va. (45 minutes)

The Battle of Charleston (1997)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638714105711
This film, part of The History Channel's series, Civil War Journal, chronicles the saga of the long siege and heroic defense of Charleston, South Carolina. (39 minutes)

The Battle of Chattanooga (1994)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014644619505711
Part of The History Channel’s series, Civil War Journal, this documentary set during the Battle of Chattanooga combines historical documentation such as letters and personal diaries from the men and women at the front, photographs, and historical re-enactments to tell their story. This video recalls the elements leading up to the event, key players, and its significance in the greater scope of history. (45 minutes)

The Battle of Chickamauga (2006)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014638717505711
The Battle of Chickamauga includes commentaries from authors and historians, battle re-enactments, maps, photographs, and actual battlefield scenes to recount the war between north and south. (51 minutes)

Battle of Gettysburg, Day 1 (2006)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638719105711
Lee's grand invasion, Lincoln's search for a general, Jeb Stuart's mysterious raid, John Buford's clever defense. This film focuses on events of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. (45 minutes)

Battle of Gettysburg, Day 2 (2006)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638719005711
The second day of the Battle of Gettysburg covers Meade's fishhook, Lee's counter march, Sickle's salient, Devil's Den, the Wheat Field, the peach orchard, the horror of the Valley of Death, and the fight for Little Round Top. (20 minutes)

Battle of Gettysburg, Day 3 (2006)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638718905711
The last day of the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg is covered featuring the events that took place during Pickett's Charge. Part of the series Unknown Civil War. (27 minutes)

The Best of Civil War Minutes: Union (2007)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014733577705711
Twenty 4-8 minute segments featuring photographs, artifacts and hundreds of rare paintings and engravings. Learn about the lives of the Union soldiers through their handwritten letters home and find out what life was like from the perspective of the average foot soldier. Features Civil War historian Michael Kraus. (75 minutes)

Caught in the Maelstrom: Civilians in the Civil War (1994)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638734005711
Part of The History Channel's series, Civil War, focuses on the civilians, ordinary people during the war including the stories of young Tillie Pierce, and old John Burns who got his gun and fought. (33 minutes)

The Civil War (1990, 2004)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991003712419705711
Ken Burns’ epic documentary chronicling the American Civil War. (5 videodiscs: 700 minutes)

The Civil War: Shiloh (2006)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014642690205711
This film chronicles the Confederate defeat at Shiloh. For nearly 150 years Confederate failure has been blamed on the fact that they lost valuable time at the Hornet's Nest, where a detachment of Union soldiers held the line. But through forensic history Battlefield Detectives uncover a very different story of why things went so badly for the Confederates at the Battle of Shiloh. (46 minutes)

The Commanders, vol. 1 (1994)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014642713405711
The Civil War transformed the nation, righting a great injustice but opening wounds that have never completely healed. The saga of the War Between the States is captured in Civil War Journal, which goes beyond the battles to tell the personal stories that shaped the epic conflict and examines the commanders whose decisions changed history, and stories of friendships torn apart in the heat of battle. Vol. 1 highlights the division at West Point prior to the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter. (73 minutes)

The Commanders, vol. 2 (1994)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014638716405711
Through diaries, photographs, and re-enactments, this film consists of four episodes that focus on the personal lives of the Civil War generals. (78 minutes)

The Conflict Begins, Disc 1 (1993) (75 minutes)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014638718205711

The Conflict Begins, Disc 2 (1993) (79 minutes)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014638718105711
Another film in The History Channel's series, Civil War Journal using diaries, photographs, and re-enactments of the earliest days of the war with four episodes: John Brown's War, Destiny at Fort Sumter, The Battle of 1st Bull Run, The 54th Massachusetts.

First Manassas (2002)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014638720205711
Chronicles the experiences of individual soldiers in the Civil War. At the first battle of Manassas, green soldiers were introduced to the horror and chaos of war in a fight that was more a clash of mobs than a strategic engagement. (22 minutes)

Fredericksburg (2002)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638720105711
The winter of 1862 was a critical time for the Union's Army of the Potomac. With few military victories in hand and President Lincoln in a desperate struggle for his political life, the Yankees began a dramatic push for the Confederate capital of Richmond. But in their path, stood Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Well-positioned in the hills above the town of Fredericksburg, the ensuing conflict would be perhaps the Union's darkest hour. (26 minutes)

Freedom's Road: Slavery & The Opposition (1995)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014638727905711
By the 19th century the United States was the only western country still practicing slavery. Every European nation had already abolished the practice of buying and selling human beings for labor. America's northern states had ended slavery too, but in the South the white community vowed to do anything necessary to hold on to slavery, even if that meant civil war. Part of The History Channel’s series, Civil War Journal. (48 minutes)

General James Longstreet: Lee's Prodigal Son (1994)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638728705711In a war filled with a high code of loyalty and honor, few served more faithfully than Confederate General James Longstreet. His vision of the changing art of battle put him at odds with the favored Robert E. Lee and set the stage for a bloody controversy that refuses to end. This is the story of the man who many thought was the best corps commander on either side of the war yet is best known for losing the war for the South at the Battle of Gettysburg. Part of The History Channel’s series, Civil War Journal. (23 minutes)

Lincoln and Lee at Antietam: The Cost of Freedom (2005)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014640459405711
Lincoln and Lee at Antietam – The Cost of Freedom focuses on the single bloodiest day in American history. The film features commentaries from renowned historians who explain the significance of this first Civil War battle fought on northern soil. Through first person accounts, and commemorative battle footage from re-enactments, this film tells the tale of the 14-hour Battle of Antietam. (124 minutes)

Monumental Crossroads (2018)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014698279405711
Filmed in 2017, this film documents the peoples’ reactions and sentiments throughout the Southern U.S. as tempers flare up as confederate monuments are targeted for removal. During a 6000-mile road trip through the former confederacy, Monumental Crossroads explores the legacy of Southern Heritage. A myriad of supporters and opponents are met along the way: White, Black, North and South. Each with their own view on what's worth remembering and preserving. Is there a way past these crossroads? (87 minutes)

Nathaniel Bedford Forrest (1995)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014638727705711
Despite having no formal military training, Forrest rose from the rank of private to lieutenant general, serving as a cavalry officer at numerous engagements including the Battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Brice’s Crossroads and Second Franklin, and the Siege of Vicksburg. Forrest is also remembered for his controversial involvement in the Battle of Fort Pillow in April 1864, when his troops massacred black soldiers following a Union surrender. After the Civil War Forrest would become the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. (37 minutes)

Sherman’s March to the Sea (2005)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638711805711
On November 15, 1864, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman left Atlanta with 62,000 men and headed toward the Georgia coast. Traveling the rail lines to Savannah, his army laid waste to the countryside, burning crops, confiscating supplies, destroying buildings, and ripping up rail tracks. When Sherman reached his destination in December, the Confederate South had been dealt a blow from which it would never recover. (43 minutes)

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War. Part 1 (2019) (56 minutes)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014649300905711
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War. Part 2 (2019) (56 minutes)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014649300805711
Reconstruction: America After the Civil War. Part 3 (2019) (56 minutes)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014649300705711
Reonstruction: America After the Civil War. Part 4 (2019) (56 minutes)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014649300605711
A four-hour documentary series presented by Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores the twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77). Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, a ‘brief moment in the sun' for African Americans, when they could advance, and achieve, education, exercise their right to vote, and run for and win public office.

The Tragedy at Cold Harbor (2000)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/7dtcur/alma991014642693605711
Commentary by historians and eyewitness testimony are combined with dramatic re-enactments to bring to life the tragic story of Cold Harbor, the bloody battle fought June 1-3, 1864. The Union lost 13,000 men, of which 6,000 fell in less than an hour of fighting on the third day of battle. Confederate losses totaled 2,500. (34 minutes)

Traitor President Jefferson Davis (1994)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638717105711
Biography of Jefferson Davis with emphasis on his Civil War career. Part of The History Channel’s series, Civil War Journal. (39 minutes)

Was the Civil War about Slavery? (2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcy7qV-BGF4
What caused the Civil War? Did the North care about abolishing slavery? Did the South secede because of slavery? Or was it about something else entirely...perhaps states' rights? Colonel Ty Seidule, Professor of History (emeritus) at the United States Military Academy at West Point, settles the debate, concluding that the foremost cause of the Civil War was indeed slavery, and here he makes his case. (5:50 minutes)

Weapons of War (2008)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014638729905711
This film segment includes demos and battle re-enactments involving the Spencer Breach Loader, the highly accurate Sharpe's rifle and the Springfield rifle musket as well as the deadly bayonet are featured. (16 minutes)

Whispers of Angels: A Story of the Underground Railroad (2003)
https://usma.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01USMA_INST/11tghq3/alma991014640459005711
Thomas Garrett, William Still and Harriet Tubman, along with hundreds of lesser known and nameless opponents of slavery, formed a “Corridor of Courage” stretching from Maryland's eastern shore through the length of Delaware to Philadelphia and beyond -- making the Underground Railroad a real route to freedom for enslaved Americans before the Civil War. Includes interviews with prominent historians to chronicle the fight to end slavery. (60 minutes)