The Civil War Almanac

by John Stewart Bowman, Henry Steele Commager (Introduction)

The Civil War Almanac is a comprehensive and invaluable reference tool for anyone interested in learning more about the War Between the States. If you already own a sizable collection of Civil War literature, this will be an invaluable addition.

There are three sections in the book. The main body of the text is the day-to-day chronology of political and diplomatic events and all the major land and sea campaigns, which traces events from the early rumblings of the abolitionists through the whole period of the war and the immediate postwar period. It is subdivided by subject headings so that particular campaigns or series of diplomatic events can be followed separately.

The second section covers the weapons and equipment use din the Civil War. There are land and sea sections in which technical descriptions of the key equipment of the two combatants are given and their performances in action described and compared.

The final section gives brief biographies of the important personalities of the war. Among those described are military and political leaders, diplomats and journalists, spies and rabble rousers.

Genres: History, Civil War, American Civil War, Reference, Nonfiction

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1983

About the author

John Stewart Bowman was an American author and librettist. He received a B.A. in English literature from Harvard University and attended Trinity College, Cambridge University, and the University of Munich. Bowman worked as an editor for more than 40 years and as a freelance writer for almost as long.

Reviews

[Ernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good chronological summary of the events and battles of the Civil War along with a biographical summary. The book is just a series of facts and not meant to be told as a novelistic story but very detailed and well done.

[Jimmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a single volume book on the war, it's pretty good, although people who have read many Civil War books (like me) most likely won't learn anything new about the war. Personally I thought the sections on weapons and naval warfare were the best, since I haven't done much reading in these areas. The chronology section was nice, since readers can see what's happening across the country on the same day. It does have several minor mistakes, however; for example it refers to Joseph Hooker as "John Hooker" a few times.

[Rose]

973.7 Bow