Regimental Histories

Regimental histories are one of my favorite Civil War genres, and this explains in part why I selected the 28^th Texas Cavalry as my dissertation topic. Many years ago, one of my favorite columns was Dr. James I. Robertson, Jr.’s The War In Words that appeared in Civil War Times Illustrated. His column often featured regimental histories, and I learned much about Civil War books and their authors from reading his informative pieces.

Civil War veterans penned the first wave of regimental histories soon after the conflict ended, and some of the best in this first group were written about trans-Mississippi units. I have included a listing below of some of these early trans-Mississippi regimentals listed in the order that they were published, but please be aware that some of these have been reprinted more than once. The information in brackets are the major campaigns that the unit was involved in, and, as you will see several of these units ended up campaigning east of the Mississippi River.

Sperry, A. F. History Of The 33d Iowa Infantry Volunteer Regiment, 1863-6. 1866. Reprint ed., Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press, 1999. [Helena, capture of Little Rock, Camden Expedition, siege of Spanish Fort]

Tunnard, W. H. A Southern Record. The History Of The Third Regiment Louisiana Infantry. 1866; Reprint ed., Dayton, OH: Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1988. [Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, Iuka, Corinth, Vicksburg]

Sprague, Homer B. History Of The 13^th Infantry Regiment Of Connecticut Volunteers, During The Great Rebellion. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood & Co., 1867. Reprint ed., Salem, MA: Higginson Book Company, 1998. [Georgia Landing, Irish Bend, Port Hudson, Red River campaign, Winchester, Fisher’s Hill, Cedar Creek]

Anderson, Ephraim McD. Memoirs: Historical And Personal; Including The Campaigns Of The First Missouri Confederate Brigade. St. Louis: Times Printing Co., 1868. Reprint ed., Dayton, OH: The Press of Morningside Bookshop, 1972. [Lexington, Pea Ridge, Iuka, Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta campaign, 1864 Tennessee campaign, Fort Blakely]

Blessington, Joseph P. The Campaigns of Walker’s Texas Division. New York City: Lange, Little & Company, 1875. Reprint ed., Austin, TX: State House Press, 1994. [Milliken’s Bend, Bayou Bourbeau, Fort DeRussy, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Jenkins’ Ferry]