U.S. Civil War FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about the Civil War in the United States (1861-1865).
This FAQ about the Civil War in the United States (1861-1865) was compiled and written by Justin M. Sanders jsanders@jaguar1.usouthal.edu with numerous contributions by others.
01 What are these groups anyway? (alt.war.civil.usa)- The USENET newsgroup alt.war.civil.usa was created in the ...
- 02 Are the FAQ and Reading List archived somewhere? (alt.war.civil.usa)
- Yes, the latest versions of the FAQ and Reading List are available ...
- 03 Where can I find Civil War images, documents, and so forth on-line? (alt.war.civil.usa)
- [Your humble FAQ maintainer asks the net cruisers among you to keep ...
- 04 When did state X secede? (U.S. Civil War: The beginning)
- Before Lincoln's call for troops, the following states seceded:...
- 05 Was there a declaration of war or something? (U.S. Civil War: The beginning)
- 1. The United States never declared war. This was in keeping with ...
- 06 Was Texas given a right to secede by the Treaty of Annexation that brought it into the Union? (U.S. Civil War: The beginning)
- Texas *was not* brought into the Union by treaty. There was an ...
- 07 Did the Supreme Court ever rule on the legality of secession? (U.S. Civil War: The beginning)
- Yes, it did-- after the war. Perhaps the clearest statement is in ...
- 08 What were the populations of the states at the outbreak of the war? (U.S. Civil War: The beginning)
- The following statistics are from J.C.G. Kennedy, Supt. of Census,...
- 10 Who were the U.S. Generals at the out-break of the war, and who were the first Generals appointed after the war began? (U.S. Civil War: Battles and fighting forces)
- [Contributed by Carlton Andrews (andrews@mls.ed.ray.com)]...
- 11 Who were the first C.S. Generals appointed? (U.S. Civil War: Battles and fighting forces)
- [31 Aug 1861 will be the cut-off date for this answer.]...
- 12 What were the naval ranks during the Civil War? (U.S. Civil War: Battles and fighting forces)
- [Information from Richard Staley with amendments from Justin T. Broderick]...
- 13 What were the organization and strengths of various units in the armies? (U.S. Civil War: Battles and fighting forces)
- [Compiled with the assistance of Stephen ...
- 14 What is the difference between grapeshot and canister? (U.S. Civil War: Battles and fighting forces)
- Here is a list of the various ammunitions used in the war. The ...
- 15 How did prisoner exchanges and paroles work? (U.S. Civil War: Battles and fighting forces)
- Prisoner exchanges were a way for captors to avoid the ...
- 16 What did a brevet promotion indicate, and what did an officer gain by being given a brevet? (U.S. Civil War: Battles and fighting forces)
- [By Stephen Schmidt (schmidsj@unvax.union.edu) with assistance from ...
- 17 When did the war end? (U.S. Civil War)
- 9 April 1865, Gen. R.E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at ...
- 18 If the rebel states were never considered legally out of the Union, how was Reconstruction justified? (U.S. Civil War)
- Although the states remained part of the U.S., they had no loyal ...
- 19 When were the different states readmitted to representation in Congress? (U.S. Civil War)
- For the dates that follow: Act is the date of the act which declared ...
- 20 Who was the last surviving veteran of the Civil War? (U.S. Civil War)
- [this entry was originally written by the late Paul Cowan, but it has ...
- 21 My ancestor fought in the war-- how do I find out about his service? (U.S. Civil War)
- [Thanks to Geoff Walden and Lynn Berkowitz for updated information.]...
- 22 How can I find information about a particular regiment? (U.S. Civil War)
- For the Union side, the definite first place to look for a ...
- 23 What is the "Stars and Bars"? (U.S. Civil War)
- The Stars and Bars IS NOT the familiar rebel flag one sees ...
- 24 What changes to the U.S. flag occurred during the war? (U.S. Civil War)
- The admission of two states affected the U.S. flag during the war. ...
- 25 How was the state of West Virginia created? (U.S. Civil War)
- On 17 Apr 1861, the Va Secession Convention passed an ordinance ...
- 26 What war records did the post-war presidents have? (U.S. Civil War)
- From: tecump@sulu.ucsb.edu (Dominic J. Dal Bello)...
- 27 What are the various alternative names for the war? (U.S. Civil War)
- From: pdunn@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Patrick L Dunn)...
- 28 What are good books on the war? (U.S. Civil War)
- Steve Schmidt (schmidsj@unvax.union.edu) has compiled a ...
- 29 How can I get the soundtrack to Ken Burn's "Civil War"? (U.S. Civil War)
- From Wayne J. Warf (WWARF@ucs.indiana.edu):...
- 30 Did U.S. Grant and R.E. Lee both own slaves and free them? (U.S. Civil War)
- [from the late Paul Cowan and James Epperson with amendments by JMS]...
- 31 What is the recipe for hardtack? (U.S. Civil War)
- Recipes for hardtack vary from extremely simple to more elaborate....
- 32 Where can I get a copy of the Sullivan Ballou letter quoted in Ken Burn's "Civil War"?
- The text of Maj. Ballou's letter can be found at the follwoing web ...
- 33 What were the lyrics to "Dixie", "The Bonnie Blue Flag", etc.? (U.S. Civil War)
- Kathie Fraser has the lyrics to several songs on her homepage of songs ...
- 34 How can I get the "Official Records" on CD-ROM? (U.S. Civil War)
- There are currently three publishers who have the Official Records of ...
- 35 General Histories of the War (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom. 1988. ...
- 36 Causes of the War and History to 1861 (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- David M. Potter, The Impending Crisis, 1848-1861 (Harpers & Row, 1976)....
- 37 Slavery and Southern Society (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Fogel and Engerman, Time on the Cross. 1974. ...
- 38 Reconstruction (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Eric Foner, Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution. 1990. ...
- 39 Biographies (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Stephen Oates, To Purge This Land With Blood. 1970. ...
- 40 Memoirs. (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- [Note: The following books were written by prominent participants in ...
- 41 Reference Works (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- The books on this section of the list are here as valuable references, ...
- 42 Unit Histories and Soldier's Reminiscences (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Bruce Catton. Civil War, 3 volumes....
- 43 Fiction (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Ambrose Bierce, In the Midst Of Life. ...
- 44 Specific Battles and Campaigns (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Jay Monaghan, Civil War on the Western Border, 1854-1865 (University of ...
- 45 Strategies, Tactics, and General Military Aspects (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Douglas Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants. 1944. ...
- 46 The Experience of Soldiers (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- Gerald Linderman, Embattled Courage: the Experience of Combat in ...
- 47 Civil War Periodicals (popular press) (U.S. Civil War Reading List)
- These are periodicals for the general reader which deal with the Civil ...
My Books
