Learn about the American Civil War (also called the War Between the States) through these books and Web sites.
A Ballad of the Civil War
Mary Stolz
Twin brothers, Tom and Jack, grew up on a Virginia plantation. They share everything except their opinions about the Civil War. As the war begins, the twins serve on opposite sides and are destined to fight each other.
Across Five Aprils
Irene Hunt
A coming of age story about a 9-year-old boy named Jethro Creighton. He is forced to grow up and become responsible after his brothers and cousin leave to join the army.
Across The Lines
Carolyn Reeder
Edward and Simon are childhood companions. One is white and the other is black. However, as the Union Army advances into Petersburg, Virginia, these two friends must separate and go in different directions.
An Island Far From Home
John Donahue
Joshua Loring is about to discover that friends can come from the most unlikely places. After writing several letters to a confederate soldier, he realizes that an enemy can become a friend.
Bull Run
Paul Fleischman
At the beginning of the Civil War, sixteen individuals describe their experiences with horror, thrill, glory and disappointment. These profiles come from generals, young boys, Northerners, couriers, Southerners, and concerned family members.
Civil War Artist
Taylor Morrison
During the Civil War, photographs could not be published in newspapers. Therefore sketch artists were used. This book describes the four-week process that it took for artists to get their sketches published in the newspapers.
Civil War Sub: the Mystery of the Hunley
Kate Boehm Jerome
An All Aboard Reading, Station Stop: 3 book. This book describes the events surrounding the creation, use, and demise of the H.L. Hunley, a Confederate submarine.
Joseph: 1861, A Rumble of War
Bonnie Pryor
Joseph Byers lives in Branson Mills, Kentucky, a town that favors the South and slavery. After his stepfather takes a stand against slavery, Joseph must make a difficult decision. Which side is he on?
Mr. Lincoln's Drummer
G. Clifton Wisler
A story based on actual events. Ten-year-old Willie Johnston was a drummer in the Union Army during the Civil War, who would become the youngest person to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Pink and Say
Patricia Polacco
Sheldon Curtis, a white boy known as Say, is rescued by Pinkus Aylee, an African American. They become friends in spite of their differences. And then tragedy strikes. Can friendship withstand the hardship of war?
Red Legs: a Drummer Boy of the Civil War
Ted Lewin
Nine years old, Stephen is a drummer boy for a Union unit called the Red Legs. As the Union and Confederate soldiers clash on the battlefield, Stephen is fatally wounded after being shot in the chest. Based on the experiences of a Brooklyn boy named Stephen Benjamin Barrow, who fought in the war from 1862 to 1865.
The Journal of James Edmond Pease, A Civil War Union Soldier
Jim Murphy
James Edmond Pease, 16-years-old, volunteers to serve in G Company of the 122nd Regiment in New York. He is ordered by his lieutenant to record the company’s daily experiences during the war.
Women at the Front: Their Changing Roles in the Civil War
Jean F. Blashfield
This book tells the story of women's lives in the North and South, as slaves, nurses, soldiers, and spies.
