Best Little Stories from the Civil War: More than 100 true stories

Best Little Stories From...

by C. Brian Kelly

"This fascinating book will make the Civil War come alive with thoughts and feelings of real people."


The Midwest Book Review The Civil WAR You Never Knew...
Behind the bloody battles, strategic marches, and decorated generals lie more than 100 intensely personal, true stories you haven't heard before. In Best Little Stories from the Civil War, soldiers describe their first experiences in battle, women observe the advances and retreats of armies, spies recount their methods, and leaders reveal the reasoning behind many of their public actions. Fascinating characters come to life,

Former U.S. Senator Robert Toombs of Georgia, who warned the Confederate cabinet not to fall for Lincoln's trap by firing on reinforcements, thereby allowing Lincoln to claim the South had fired the first shots of the war at Fort Sumter.

Brig. Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut, who disbanded the 13th Independent Battery, Ohio Light Artillery, scattered its men, gave its guns to other units, and ordered its officers home, accusing all of cowardly performance in battle.

Thomas N. Conrad, a Confederate spy operating in Washington, who warned Richmond of both the looming Federal Peninsula campaign in the spring of 1863 and the attack at Fredericksburg later that year.

Private Franklin Thomson of Michigan, born as Sarah Emma Edmonds, who fought in uniform for the Union during the war and later was the only female member of the postwar Union Grand Army of the Republic.

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, American History, War, Military History, 19th Century

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 1994

About the author

C. BRIAN KELLY, a prize-winning journalist, is president and founder of Montpelier Publishing and a columnist and editor emeritus for Military History magazine. He also is a lecturer in newswriting at the University of Virginia. Kelly's articles have appeared in Reader's Digest, Friends, Yankee, Rod Serling's Twilight Zone, and other magazines, and he is the author of several books on American history.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

So let me say, I'm a Northerner. I'm from a long line of Northerners. Okay? I get the South feels differently about the Civil War. I get Sherman's March to the Sea isn't the March to the Sea if you are from the South.

I get it.

This book is for Southerners, not Northerners. The writing is good, but in close to half of the book all the stories about good soliders are all stories about the Greys. All the stories about bad soliders are about the Blues. There is some type of double standard going on here.

I love the work of L.B. Taylor Jr.. I think the man should be declared a National Treasure. And I have never felt this way about reading his work when it deals with the Civil War. I guess that's why I can't love this book.

[Spectre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Kelly offers an interesting collection of lesser known anecdotal stories of the Civil War.

[Isaiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Best little stories form the Civial War.” by C. Brian Kelly, the Theme was to tell all the stories from the Civial War. The characters explaned different sittuations from the Civial War such as the battles during the Civial War. Also some of the stories tell tales of slavery and also other things. All the stories together tell that tale of the Cival War and the people who where there.
I wouldnt really recommend the book unless they liked to read boreing stories of the Cival War and the people who where there. I didnt really make any connections to anything because what happened i could not relate to because i havent had thoughs experiences in my life so therefore i couldnt do anything. The author seemed to like to talk about the stories cause he gives a lot of details in each stories he wrote.

[Stella · Rating 2 out of 5]

A *very* basic introduction to the US Civil War. While I'm fairly sure this is written for middle-schoolers, it's really a cliff-notes-esque packaging of a long and complicated history. As an introduction to the subject matter, it spoon-feeds you stories through first hand quotes, legislative record, and newspaper articles which hopefully can serve as a gateway to history books with more depth and complexity. I finished this in about 2 days with much interruption.

[Rex]

I like a book like this because you can dip in, read a few stories, and then come back to it again later. While you're reading other novel-length books.

I mean, if you already know how the Civil War turned out .... (ha)

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another free book on my kindle! I really enjoyed these true stories, some about famous people and some about everyday folks I'd never heard of before. Really brings history to life.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A view of a terrible time

It doesn't matter which side you believe was right during the Civil War, because as this book shows it was a terrible time both North and South in the United States. When reading these stories in this book you are able to put a face on the people fighting on both sides. Now don't expect to come away with a clear cut answer to this war, because there may not be one to find in this book. More of an understanding of the people, who fought and died, will be found. Many of the people in this book were familiar to me from my college days studying the Civil War. Some were and still are rouges while others were saints, but someone else will have to make that call. If you are student of the Civil War these stories are worth reading I think.

[Flowergarden24 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting. Nice year by year occurances at the end. It was interesting to read about the relationships of Civil War paticipants to Revolutionary War people. Some of the stories and the part of the poem by E. Donelly called the Lady-President's Ball were very sad.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent accounting of the times

An excellent accounting of the times and year's of the civil war. Little known facts and details enable the reader to better understand the times of the era.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not as interesting as I would have liked it to have been. I wasn't engrossed and it was just a bit of light reading.

[Veronica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have the first edition, 1994. Some errors in grammar and spelling detracted from the pieces.

[Kayla Montgomery · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy the side stories of the Civil War - even if all aren't based in fact. Easy read. Can read in short doses without losing anything. Just perfect for bedtime reading.

[Shelly Dabbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting stories. Some I had heard before but there was a lot more information in this book format that was nice to know about the historic battles.

[valerie cheatham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many vignettes of Civil War individuals and battles, some of which I’d never heard.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I would find it more interesting. The author is clearly strong on research, but lacks the technique of drawing the reader into a scrap of information.

[Halie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having bite size stories of history makes this a fun easy read. Also something you can pick up and put down when you want to come back without issue.

[Kimberly Erdman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting. Learned a lot. But reads like a textbook.

[Gwen Kubberness · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book about the history of Civil War, a great genealogy helper. Well written.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a review of the 3rd edition, released by Cumberland House in 2010. The 1st edition was released in 1994. The 2nd edition was released in 1998.

When I read Civil War histories I enjoy the standard, sweeping re-telling of the tale with the battles and the politics. But, I also enjoy those little nuggets of history that make the larger story more personal - stories like the general who chastised his men for hiding from a sniper and then immediately gets hit by that sniper and falls over dead. Or, the story of how Booker T. Washington picked his last name. Or, one of my favorites, the story of the 90 day recruit who was due to leave immediately after the First Battle of Bull Run - but Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman refused to hear about it and if he tried to leave he would shoot him "like a dog." That same day Lincoln came by to review the troops, the man complained that Sherman threatened him. Lincoln interrupted and told him in a loud stage whisper, "Well, if I were you and Colonel Sherman threatened to shoot, I would not trust him for, by Heaven, I believe he would do it."

Those nuggets are like the marshmallow pieces in Lucky Charms - they make the cereal more fun. If you compare those little stories in a standard history to the marshmallows in Lucky Charms, well than this book is almost all marshmallows, which is kinda fun.

Kelly notes in the introduction that these nuggets make the history more personal and can tell huge amounts about the larger story...

Read more of this review by clicking here: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2013/...

[James Crawford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This consists of very short factual accounts from the Civil War. There are a whole lot of really fascinating things included in this book. Some of them include:

Major insights into poverty of young Lincoln and Lee.

As early as 1832 North Carolina was talking about secession.

There are numerous accounts of slaves being beaten, shot, and killed, along with information about Frederick Douglas. There's a text reproduction of an ad for a slave sale, 1859, with a strong black male going for $1600. (And that's in the dollars of that day; I imagine it would be a very considerable amount in today's dollars.)

There's information on Jefferson Davis, and information on his wife.

There's a section about Fort Sumter, and a section on the formation of the Confederate government, and how it was very similar to the Union govt, except for the issue of slavery.

There's a lot of stuff about the social life in Washington, D.C. , and in the South.

Lincoln wanted to make sure that the South fired the first shot of the war

There's also a good bit of statistical information, such as there were around 10,455 battles of varying size during the war; there were about 4,000,000 slaves in the South; total Union Army deaths from all causes were 360,222; Confederate deaths were 258,000.

In addition to all of this, there is a chronology of the war, a bibliography, and an index.

[Lizabeth Tucker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over 100 little stories of unusual events, strange happenings, and wonderful moments from the Civil War. The focus is on the human story, from soldiers and sailors to slaves and civilians.

I love the "Best Little Stories" collections. Lots of history in small digestible bites. But it isn't all cold facts and funny stories, it is pain and sadness and tragedy. And incredible waste. More Americans, North and South, were killed in this conflict than any other one we've been involved in since. More than World War II. More than Vietnam. Like so many Lost Causes, it has been romanticized over time, but there were real people involved, people who didn't always agree with the decisions made by their state leaders, but who felt that their loyalties should be with their homes. 4 out of 5.

[BonSue Brandvik · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his book, "Best Little Stories of the Civil War," C. Brian Kelly uses letters, quotes and journal entries of politicians, military leaders and their families/friends to create short vignettes that carry the reader from the beginning to the end of the Civil War in a very personal manner.

Although the short stories appear in chronological order, Kelly bounces back and forth between Union and Confederate perspectives, providing a fascinating and enlightening look at the War from both points of view. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the people whose lives were forever changed by the Civil War.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather inconsistent volume of short little-known stories and digest versions of information better presented in other books. The material on Lincoln and his wife wasn't anything a student of Lincoln might find interesting. A section on Mrs. Davis was pretty good as I didn't know much about her to begin with. This book felt a bit like a sequel, which it is, and like most sequels, it lacked energy. Nonetheless, the smaller stories about some of the other characters managed to balance the book out so that it got my 3 stars.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good-but-not-great collection of anecdotes from the Civil War. I would only suggest this book for beginners who want short snippets of Civil War history. Aside from the very superficial aspect of the short entries, the author too often depends on modern sources, quoting modern books and articles rather than original sources. In a few cases, the more entertaining version of a story is told, as opposed to the version that other historians view as factual.
It's still fun, even if it's not great or authoritative.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting addition to our history books. The author was able to compile letters and other stories of the Civil War generals and heroes together to compile this book. It was a gruesome war and hopefully will never happen again on American soil. There were a few new stories that I hadn't heard before, but for the most part these are well read. Did enjoy the stories of the first ladies, Mary Todd Lincoln and Mrs. Grant.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is filled with short pieces about events or people during the Civil War. Because I've read several books on the Civil War some of them were familar to me, but many were not. It was interesting to learn a little more about the backgrounds of some of the key officers which I hadn't known and probably wouldn't have learned without reading a biography of that figure. As always when dealing with the Civil War, many of the events were sad.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although an Australian I find the American Civil War of great interest. Such an important event in that nations history but at the same time so full of sadness. This book gives the human touch to the conflict and contains accounts from the ordinary soldiers to the generals and presidents as well as their wives. This book is a worthwhile introduction to this historical event.

[Sherry Hays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little book of tidbits. I enjoyed reading stories that were outside the normal ones presented about the Civil War. I got a few new insights from the book, but overall, it was not as interesting as I would have liked it to have been. I wasn't riveted or engrossed -- it was just a bit of light reading.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories about all aspects of The Civil War. These little tidbits of the war were very enjoyable. Stories about both presidents Lincoln, Davis, and their wives. Little nuggets about Grant and Lee and the rest of the war-time personalities of the conflict. All in all a very well thought out book.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not really all that entertaining. Lots of info but very dry. So 1 star is for the info given. Another star is for the ending chapters on Varina Davis and Mary Todd Lincoln. These were very informative and not as dusty.