A Civil War Treasury of Tales, Legends and Folklore

by B.A. Botkin, Warren Chappell (Illustrator)

Collection of personal narratives, anecdotes, tall tales, and fables convey the courage, imagination, and humor of the Civil War era

Genres: Civil War, History, American History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, War, Civil War History

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Jdetrick]

This is an incredibly well researched and occasionally fascinating book that, I believe, may not be for me. I found some of the stories very interesting and some of them offer a revealing look at the feelings of the participants in the Civil War, but at the end of the day, they are very short stories, and it is a very long book. I think I've realized that, for me to enjoy a book of this length, I need it to be one continuous narrative, fiction or non-fiction. That being said, as something that someone dips into and out of, I can see this being an incredibly fascinating work.

[Frank Minich]

Mildly entertaining and occasionally amusing.
Sometimes hard to follow with respect to persons and locations - I’m not familiar with the names of all the Generals on both sides, which seemed to be a prequisite.

[Meghan]

The verses on the pages for each section were odd, though the calendars were great.

[Priscilla]

Amazing book, full of every type of story! This book gives readers a great glimpse into the human part of the Civil War through humorous accounts, sad stories, and everything in between.

[Roger Piasecki]

Really enjoyed the variety of stories in this book . As a civil war buff I read about the war in a new light.

[Mary Chapman]

Great book of different little short stories.

[David Vanness]

It is a collection of writings from many books, sources and well footnoted. One of Gen. Grant I truly enjoyed. "...I never learned to swear,...When a boy I seemed to have an aversion to it, and when I became a man I saw the folly of it. I have always noticed, too, that swearing helps to rouse a man's anger; and when a man flies into a passion his adversary who keeps cool always gets the better of him." [page 369]. It was time well spent to get a better understanding of our ancestors who gave so much in this struggle.

[Max]

This might not appeal to anyone else, but for a Civil War-buff like myself, this was indeed a treasure-trove of anecdotes about soldiers, their commanders and the people who loved them. It tells tales from both sides of the country, Yankee and Confederate alike. There are quite a few tales of Abraham Lincoln, ranging from his election to his death almost 4 years later to the day. My favorite story involves a rambling tale of inept bureaucracy with too many generals and not enough regular soldiers--as most stories usually end up. I highly recommend this to any Civil War fan.

[Cws]

CW9737Bot

[Jonna]

I read this book for research for a book I'm writing. It contained lots o very useful information.

[Anna]

LOVED this book. Well-collected stories that are funny, sad, or just interesting. Wish I could use them with the kids I lead around.

[Xdw]

a collection of short mostly 1 or less page snippets. easy to pick up and put down.