Civil War

Historical Fiction

	Allen, Merritt. Blow, Bugles, Blow Story of a boy whose adventures were closely tied to Sheridan’s because of their mutual love of horses.
	Allen, Merritt. Johnny Reb Seventeen-year-old Ezra Todd excels as a soldier when he enlists in South Carolina’s Colonel Hampton’s Legion.
	Andrews, Mary. The Perfect Tribute A touching short story of a wounded Confederate soldier who reads about Lincoln’s Gettysburg address and then meets him.
	Archer, Myrtle. The Young Boys Gone After marauders kill his father and brother, thirteen-year-old Thad and his remaining family escape into the Ozark wilderness and struggle to survive the war.
	Armstrong, Jennifer. The Dreams Of Mairhe Mehan Mairhe’s brother Mike, a laborer working on the new dome of the Capitol, suddenly enlists as a volunteer in the Union Army, leaving Mairhe and their ailing father, whose heart is in the Ireland he has left behind, to struggle in their dingy Irish slum. A haunting, powerful novel that weaves together Mairhe’s dreams, Irish legend, and pivotal events of the Civil War.
	Ayres, Katherine.  North By Night: A Story Of the Underground Railroad Presents the journal of a sixteen-year-old girl whose family operates a stop on the Underground Railroad.
	Banks, Sara Harrell. Abraham’s Battle : A Novel of Gettysburg In 1863, as the Civil War approaches his home in Gettysburg and he realizes that a big battle is about to begin, a freed slave named Abraham decides to join the ambulance corps of the Union Army.
	Beatty, Patricia. Charlie Skedaddle When tough, cocky Charley from the Bowery gang in New York meets his first battle, he "skedaddles" into the Virginia mountains.
	Beatty, Patricia. Eben Tyne, Powdermonkey A thirteen-year-old powder carrier in the Confederate navy joins the crew of the ironclad Merrimac in a mission to break the Union blockade of Norfolk harbor.
	Beatty, Patricia. Turn Homeward, Hannalee Shipped north against her will to work in Yankee mills, twelve-year-old Hannalee vows to make her way home to Georgia. Followed by BE EVER HOPEFUL, HANNALEE, in which Hannalee’s family decides to start a new life in Atlanta, where jobs are plentiful because of the need to rebuild the city.
	Beatty, Patricia. Who Comes With Cannons? In 1861 twelve-year-old Truth, a Quaker girl from Indiana, is staying with relatives who run a North Carolina station of the Underground Railroad, when her world is changed by the beginning of the Civil War.
	Becker, Stephen. When the War is Over The story of probably the last casualty of the Civil War, young Thomas Martin, a Confederate guerilla, executed by a Union firing squad thirty-two days after Lee surrendered at Appomatox.
	Beyer, Audrey. Dark Venture The lives of a twelve-year-old slave Demba and a young Rhode Island doctor become inescapably entwined. (Ing Learning Center)
	Brenaman, Miriam. Evvy’s Civil War In Virginia in 1860, on the verge of the Civil War, fourteen-year-old Evvy chafes at the restrictions that her society places on both women and slaves.
	Brill, Marlene Targ. Diary of a Drummer Boy The fictionalized diary of a twelve-year-old boy who joins the Union army as a drummer, and ends up fighting in the Civil War.
	Burchard, Peter. Bimby A young slave in Georgia decides to seek freedom after a terrifying day that changes his life. (Public libraries)
	Clapp, Patricia. The Tamarack Tree; A Novel of the Siege of Vicksburg Rosemary, an English orphan, joins her brother in Vicksburg and is torn between her outrage at slavery and her feelings for the southerners she has come to love. Then Union forces besiege the city for forty-seven days in the spring of 1863.
	Climo, Shirley. A Month of Seven Days. When twelve-year-old Zoe’s Georgia home is taken over by Union soldiers, she uses all her ingenuity to drive them away.
	Collier, James. With Every Drop of Blood While trying to transport food to Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War, fourteen-year--old Johnny is captured by a black Union soldier.
	Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage A story of fear, courage, conflict and death, and the battle within Henry Fleming, a young recruit.
	Crist-Evans, Craig.  Moon Over Tennessee: A Boy’s Civil War Journal. A thirteen-year-old boy sets off with his father from their farm in Tennessee to join the confederate forces on their way to fight at Gettysburg.  Told in the form of diary entries.
	Cummings, Betty Sue. Hew Against the Grain Matilda almost loses her will to live after she becomes a victim of the cruelties of war.
	Davis, Burke Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers Warm, humorous vignette of Lincoln and how he came to grow his beard. Based on actual correspondence between Lincoln and an eleven-year-old girl.
	Davis, Paxton. Three Days The Battle of Gettysburg through the thoughts and actions of two soldiers: one, a wounded Confederate soldier; the other, General Robert E. Lee.
	Denslow, Sharon Phillips. All Their Names Were Courage In 1862, as William Burd fights in the Civil War, he exchanges letters with his sister, Sallie, who is also writing to Confederate and Union generals asking about their horses in order to write a book.
	Donahue, John. An Island Far From Home The twelve-year-old son of a Union army doctor killed during the fighting in Fredericksburg comes to understand the meaning of war and the fine line between friends and enemies when he begins corresponding with a young Confederate prisoner of war.
	Edmonds, Walter. Cadmus Henry Young Henry has lofty ideas of riding bravely into battle, only to find himself floating instead over enemy lines in a balloon.
	Ernst, Kathleen. The Night Riders of Harpers Ferry Seventeen-year-old Solomon Hargreave and the newly-formed 8th New York Cavalry Regiment adjust to life in the army in the weeks preceding the Battle of Antietam Creek, 1862, despite the appointment of a Southern-born colonel to their unit and rumors of a Confederate army advance.
	Ernst, Kathleen.  Retreat From Gettysburg  In 1863, during the tense week after the Battle of Gettysburg, a Maryland boy faces difficult choices as he is forced to care for a wounded Confederate officer while trying to decide if he himself should leave his family to fight for the Union.
	Fleischman, Paul. Bull Run Northerners, Southerners, generals, couriers, dreaming boys, and worried sisters describe the glory, the horror, the thrill, and the disillusionment of the first battle of the Civil War.
	Foote, Shelby. Shiloh; A Novel Six Confederate and six Union soldiers relate their experiences and feelings during the Battleof Shiloh in April, 1862
	Forman, James. Becca’s Story Two soldiers are rivals for the hand of a Michigan girl. Before the war is over, one of Becca’s suitors has disappeared, and the other must fight to win her love.
	Forrester, Sandra. Sound the Jubilee A slave and her family find refuge on Roanoke Island, North Carolina, during the Civil War.
	Gaines, Ernest. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman An old woman recalls her struggle against bigotry from her childhood during the Civil War to her participation in twentieth century demonstrations.
	Gauch, Patricia. Thunder at Gettysburg The intense emotions and experiences of one young girl whose town accidentally becomes a bloody battleground are conveyed in this beautifully illustrated short story.
	Hahn, Mary Downing. Hear The Wind Blow With their mother dead and their home burned, a thirteen-year-old boy and his little sister set out across Virginia in search of relatives during the final days of the Civil War.
	Hahn, Mary Downing.  Promises to the Dead Twelve-year-old Jesse leaves his home on Maryland's Eastern Shore to help a young runaway slave find a safe haven in the early days of the Civil War.
	Hansen, Joyce. Out From This Place Sequel to Which Way Freedom? Follows the fate of Easter, Obi’s companion, as she escapes to the islands off the coast of South Carolina. (1862-1866)
	Hansen, Joyce. Which Way Freedom? The story of Obi, a young slave boy, and his struggle to find out what his own freedom means.
	Haugaard, Erik. Orphans of the Wind A twelve-year-old English orphan becomes a deck boy aboard a British blockade runner carrying guns to the Confederacy.
	Haynes, Betsy. Cowslip Thirteen-year-old Cowslip, a house slave, hears talk about freedom for the first time
	Hesse, Karen.  A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin In 1860 and 1861, while working in her father's lighthouse on an island off the coast of Delaware, fifteen-year old Amelia records in her diary how the Civil War is beginning to devastate her divided state.
	Hickman, Janet. Zoar Blue A teen-age boy and girl find the war encroaching on their Ohio farming community of German Separatists and challenging their pacifist beliefs.
	Hill, Pamels Smith. A Voice from the Border Living in the border state of Missouri during the Civil War, fifteen-year-old Reeves tries to understand her father's decision regarding their slaves.
	Hite, Sid. The Journal of Rufus Rowe: A Witness to the Battle of Fredericksburg In 1862, sixteen-year-old Rufus Rowe runs away from home and settles in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he documents in his journal the battle he watches unfold there.
	Holland, Isabelle. Behind the Lines During the New York Draft Riot of 1863, a young Irish Catholic girl helps an African American make a daring escape from an angry mob.
	Hoobler, Dorothy & Thomas. Sally Bradford: The Story of a Rebel Girl A young girl experiences the cruelty, danger, and destruction of the Civil War in Virginia.
	Hughes, Pat. Guerrilla Season Two fifteen-year-old boys in Missouri in 1863 find friendship and family loyalty tested by Quantrell's raiders, a Rebel guerrilla band who roamed under the black flag of "no quarter to be given by Union troops."
	Hunt, Irene. Across Five Aprils One by one, the Creighton boys are pulled from their farm in southern Illinois to fight on opposing sides, leaving the youngest, nine-year-old Jethro, to keep the farm going.
	Johnson, Nancy. My Brother’s Keeper: A Civil War Story As a young orphaned drummer boy in the Civil War, Josh Parrish joins the 20th Maine in time to be caught up in the battle for Little Round Top.
	Johnston, Norma. Of Time and of Seasons Bridget is thrust into a position of responsibility during the Civil War.
	Kassem, Lou. Listen for Rachel In the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee Rachel learns to heal with plants and herbs until the war brings tragedy and romance into her life.
	Keating, Bern. The Horse That Won the Civil War After Pancho Anderson wins a horse from a Comanche chiefhe becomes involved in espionage in the New Mexico and Colorado front of the war.
	Keith, Harold. Rifles for Watie Follows the army life of Jeff Bussey, from enlistment in Kansas in 1861 to duties as a spy in the land of the Cherokee. A long novel, but full of action and historical details. A Newbery winner.
	Lasky, Kathryn.  True North: A Novel of the Underground Railroad  Because of the strong influence which her grandfather, an abolitionist, has in her life, fourteen-year-old Lucy assists a fugitive slave girl in her escape.
	Lawson, John. The Spring Rider A brother and sister become involved with the ghost of a Union soldier who returns to lifeeach spring and, with his regiment, reenacts a Civil War battle which took place one hundred years before. (Public libraries)
	Love, D. Anne.  A Year Without Love Her mother's death and a year-long drought has made life difficult for twelve-year-old Rachel and her family on their farm in the Dakotas, but when she learns that her father plans to get married again, it is almost more than Rachel can bear.
	Lyon, George Ella. Here and Then Through ghostly visitation and a diary that seems mysteriously to write itself with twelve-year-old Abby’s hands, a Civil War nurse asks for help with medical supplies across an abyss of 133 years.
	Lyons, Mary E. & Branch, Muriel M.  Dear Ellen Bee: A Civil War Scrapbook of Two Union Spies  A scrapbook kept by a young black girl details her experiences and those of the older white woman, "Miss Bet," who had freed her and her family, sent her north from Richmond to get an education, and then worked to bring an end to slavery.  Based on the life of Elizabeth Van Lew.
	Marten, James. The Boy of Chancellorville A collection of stories by American authors set during the Civil War reveal the conflict's effects on children of differing viewpoints, ages, genders, races, and locations, and includes brief introductions to place each story in literary context and explain the author's connection to the war. (short stories)
	Matas, Carol.  The War Within: A Novel of the Civil War  In 1862, after Union forces expel Hannah's family from Holly Springs, Mississippi, because they are Jews, Hannah reexamines her views regarding slavery and the war.
	Meader, Stephen. Phantom of the Blockade Seventeen-year-old Anse finds life aboard a Confederate blockade runner dangerous, exciting, and profitable...if one survives it.
	Meadowcroft, Enid. By Secret Railway A newly freed slave and a white boy meet by chance in Chicago in 1860 and journey on the Underground Railway.
	Monjo, F. N. Gettysburg; Tad Lincoln’s Story Illustrated short story recounting the battle and the dedication of the cemetery there, as seen through the eyes of young Tad.
	Murphy, Jim.  The Journal of James Edmond Pease, A Civil War Union Soldier James Edmond, a sixteen-year-old orphan, keeps a journal of his experiences and those of "G" Company which he joined as a volunteer in the Union army during the Civil War.
	Nixon, Joan. A Dangerous Promise After being taken in by Captain Taylor and his wife in Kansas, twelve-year-old Mike Kelly and his friend Todd Blakely join the Union army as musicians and see the horrors of war first hand in Missouri.
	Nixon, Joan. Keeping Secrets In 1863, eleven-year-old Peg Kelly is drawn into the dangerous activities of a mysterious young woman who had come to her home in Missouri after fleeing the raid of William Quantrill and his raiders on Lawrence, Kansas.
	O’Dell, Scott. The 290 Jim’s love for the boat he’s helped to design leads him to an impulsive decision to sail with Captain Raphael Semmes, the greatest raider of them all.
	Osborne, Mary Pope. Osborne, Will. A Time to Dance: Virginia’s Civil War Virginia records the events of her life as her family moves to New York City in the aftermath of the Civil War, and she begins to dream of a life in the theater.
	Paulsen, Gary. Soldier’s Heart Eager to enlist, fifteen-year-old Charley has a change of heart after experiencing both the physical horrors and mental anguish of Civil War combat.
	Peck, Richard. The River Between Us During the early days of the Civil War, the Pruitt family takes in two mysterious young ladies who have fled New Orleans to come north to Illinois.
	Perez, N. A. The Slopes of War; A Novel of Gettysburg A panoramic novel about the turning point of the war as seen through the eyes of the residents of Gettysburg.
	Pinkney, Andrea Davis.  Silent Thunder: A Civil War Story In 1862 eleven-year-old Summer and her thirteen-year-old brother rosco take turns describing how life on the quiet Virginia plantation where they are slaves is affected by the Civil War.
	Polacco, Patricia. Pink and Say Say Curtis describes his meeting with Pinkus Aylee, a black soldier, during the Civil War, and their capture by Southern troops.
	Reeder, Carolyn. Across the Lines Edward, the son of a white plantation owner, and his black house servant and friend, Simon, witness the siege of Petersburg during the Civil War.
	Reeder, Carolyn. Before the Creeks Ran Red Through the eyes of three different boys, three linked novellas explore the tumultuous times beginning with the secession of South Carolina and leading up to the first major battle of the Civil War.
	Reeder, Carolyn. Captain Kate Determined to take her father's coal-carrying barge on the C & O Canal from Cumberland, Maryland, to Georgetown in D.C., twelve-year-old Kate learns hurtful truths about herself.
	Reeder, Carolyn. Shades of Gray At the end of the Civil War, twelve-year-old Will, having lost all his immediate family, reluctantly leaves his city home to live in the Virginia countryside with his aunt and the uncle he considers a "traitor" because he refused to take part in the war.
	Reig, Seymour. Ironclad! A True Story of the Civil War Peter mans the wheel of the USS Monitor during its epic battle with the Merrimac.
	Rinaldi, Ann.  Amelia’s War When a Confederate general threatens to burn Hagerstown, Maryland, unless it pays an exorbitant ransom, twelve-year-old Amelia and her friend find a way to save the town.
	Rinaldi, Ann.  Girl in Blue To escape an abusive father and an arranged marriage, fourteen-year-old Sarah, dressed as a boy, leaves her Michigan home to enlist in the Union Army, and becomes a soldier on the battlefields of Virginia as well as a Union spy working in the house of Confederate sympathizer Rose O'Neal Greenhow in Washington, D.C.
	Rinaldi, Ann. In My Father’s House For two sisters growing up surrounded by the Civil War, there is conflict both outside and inside their house. Based loosely on events in the lives of the Wilmer McLean family, on whose property the Civil War started, and in whose parlor it ended.
	Rinaldi, Ann. The Last Silk Dress High-spirited Susan finds a way to help the Confederate Army and uncovers family secrets 5that force her to think for herself. (Paperback Collection)
	Rinaldi, Ann. Numbering All the Bones "It is 1864, the Civil War is moving toward an end. President Lincoln has proclaimed his 'great measure,' and Southern slaves are slowly gaining their freedom. But for thirteen-year-old Eulinda, a house slave on a Georgia plantation, it is the most difficult time of her life..."
	Robinet, Harriette. If You Please, President Lincoln Shortly after the Christmas of 1863, fourteen-year-old runaway slave Moses thinks he is beginning a new free life when he plots to take freed and runaway slaves to a small island off the coast of Haiti.
	Sappey, Maureen Stack.  Letters From Vinnie A fictionalized account of the Washington, D.C., Civil War years experienced by Vinnie Ream the Sculptress, best known for the statue of Abraham Lincoln that is in the Capitol building.
	Shaara, Michael. The Killer Angels Vivid, dramatic re-creation of the battle of Gettysburg, told from the viewpoints of the commanders. A Pulitzer Prize winner from which the movie "Gettysburg" was made.
	Shore, Laura. The Sacred Moon Tree: Being the True Account of the Trials and Adventures of Phoebe Sands in the Great War Between the States, 1861-1865 Determined to see the war for herself, twelve-year-old Phoebe disguised as a boy, travels with her friend Jotham behind enemy lines to Richmond in hopes of rescuing Jothan’s brother from a Rebel prison. (Public libraries)
	Smucker, Barbara. Runaway to Freedom; A Story of the Underground Railway Two young slave girls escape from a plantation in Mississippi and wind a hazardous route toward freedom in Canada.
	Steele, William. The Perilous Road Chris feels responsible for a Confederate attack upon a Union wagon train. What if his brother is one of the Union’s drivers!
	Stone, Irving. Love is Eternal: A Novel About Mary Todd Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln A sympathetic portrayal of the love story of Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln.
	Townsend, Tom. The Battle of Galveston In 1863 Luke Cochrane and his father go to Galveston to deliver bales of cotton to the Confederate army and find themselves in the middle of a fierce naval battle.
	Travis, Lucille. Captured By a Spy Two boys, one black and the other white, are kidnapped from their Tarrytown, N.Y., home by Confederate spies and taken north along the Hudson River and into Canada. (PB Collection)
	Williams, Jeanne. The Confederate Fiddle In 1863, while helping to get a wagon trail full of cotton from Missouri to an open port in Texas, Vin envies his older brother in the Confederate Army but finds that his unglamorous task involves thrills and courage.
	Wisler, G. Clifton. The Drummer Boy of Vicksburg In this fact-based story, fourteen-year-old drummer boy Orion Howe displays great bravery during the battle at Vicksburg, Mississippi
	Wisler, G. Clifton. Mr. Lincoln’s Drummer Recounts the courageous exploits of Willie Johnston, an eleven-year-old Civil War drummer, who became the youngest recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor.