A Country Divided, Bloodied and Mended
A war that put country against country, town against town and family against family. With states' rights at issue a war broke out over slavery. Both the Civil War as a war needs to be studied as well as the horrible practice of slavery.
These units deserve the right to an in depth understanding and knowledge so they have been broken up because of the volume of information on each subject. The resources and websites, for the most part, can be used in either unit and I tried to put them in the unit that they suited best, but it wasn't always possible, so please check both units for a complete listing of books and websites.
Please see the General History page for more books and links.
| Resources--books | Resources--websites | Projects | Writing Assignments |
Resources
Books
Non-Fiction--Information books:
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A Civil War Drummer Boy (Capstone, 2000; ISBN 0736803483) |
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A Confederate Girl; The Diary of Carrie Berry, 1864 (Capstone, 2000; ISBN 0736803432) |
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A Soldier's Life in the Civil War by Dale Anderson (World Almanac Library, 2004; ISBN 0836855868) |
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Antientam, Day of Courage and Sacrifice (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679040) |
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Behind the Blue and Gray; the soldier's life in the Civil War by Delia Ray (Lodestar Books, 1991; ISBN 0525673334) |
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Civil War by James A. Corrick (Lucent, 2003; ISBN 1590181816) |
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Civil War by Kathlyn Gay and Martin Gay (Twenty-first Century Books, 1995; ISBN 0805028455) |
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Civil War by Michael Golay (Facts on File, 2003; ISBN 0816049343) |
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Civil War by Brian C. Pohanka, art by Don Troiani (Stackpole Books, 1995:Isbn 0811727157)* |
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Civil War by Martin W. Sandler (Harper Collins, 1996; ISBN 0060260246) |
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Civil War by John Stanchak (DK Eyewitness, 2000; ISBN 0789463024) |
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Civil War Medicine by C. Keith Wilbur, M.D. (The Globe Pequot Press, 1998; ISBN 0762703415) |
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Civil War Stories by Ambrose Bierce (Dover, 1994; ISBN 0486280381)* |
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Combat Uniforms of the Civil War by Mark Lloyd, illustrated by Michael Codd (Cartwell, 1995; ISBN 0785804579) |
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Confederate Generals of the Civil War by Carol R. Green and William R. Sanford (Enslow, 1998; ISBN 0766010295) |
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Don't Know Much About the Civil War by Kenneth C. Davis (Avon, 1996: ISBN 0380719088) |
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Duel of the Ironclads by Patrick O'Brien (Walker & Company, 2003; ISBN 0802788432) KR |
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Encyclopedia of the Civil War by Catherine Clinton (Scholastic)* |
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Fields of Fury; The American Civil War by James M. McPherson (Byron Press, 2002; ISBN 0689848331)* |
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Gettysburg, by Brendan January (Enchanted Lion, 2004; ISBN 159270025X) |
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Gettysburg, Bold Battle in the North (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679032) |
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Growing up in the Civil War by Duane Damon (Lerner, 2003; ISBN 0822506564) |
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If you Lived at the Time of the Civil War by Kay Moore, illustrated by Anni Matsick (Scholastic, 1994; ISBN 0590454226)* |
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Jefferson Davis, and the Confederacy (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679083) |
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Jefferson Davis by Joann J. Burch (Enslow, 1998; ISBN 0766010643) |
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Jefferson Davis by Joey Frazier (Chelsea, 2001; ISBN 0791060063) |
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Jefferson Davis by Jean Kinney Williams (Compass Point, 2005; ISBN 0756508177) |
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John Henry by Ezra Jack Keats* |
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Just a Few Words, Mr. Lincoln the story of the Gettysburg Address by Jean Fritz, illustrated by Charles Robinson* |
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Letters from the Battle Front by Virginia Schomp (Benchmark, 2004; ISBN 0761416609) |
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Life Among the Soldiers and Cavalry by James A. Corrick (Lucent, 2000; ISBN 1560064919) |
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Life Goes on; The Civil War at Home by James R. Arnold and Roberta Weiner (Lerner 2002; ISBN 0822523159) |
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Memoirs of a Confederate Staff Officer from Bethel to Bentonville by Eveyln Sieburg & James E. Hansen II (White Name Books, 1998; ISBN 1572490926) |
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Mines and Minie Balls by Jean F. Blashfield (Franklin Watts, 1997; ISBN 0531202739) |
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Nation at War, Soldiers, Saints, and Spies (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679008) |
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Never Before in History by Gary Amos and Richard Gardiner* |
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Rebuilding a Nation, Picking Up the Pieces (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679091) |
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Robert E. Lee, Duty and Honor (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679059) |
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Robert E. Lee by James I. Robertson, Jr. (Atheneum Books, 2005; ISBN 0689857314) |
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Secret Weapons in the Civil War by Victor Brooks (Chelsea House, 2000; ISBN 0791054330) |
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Spies in the Civil War by Albert A. Nofi (Chelsea House, 2000; ISBN 0791054276) |
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Stonewall by Jean Fritz, drawings by Stephen Gammell (G.P. Putnam's Son, 1979; ISBN 0399206981) |
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Stonewall Jackson, Spirit of the South (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679075) |
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Testament; A Soldier's Story of the Civil War by Benson Bobrick (Simon & Schuster, 2003; ISBN 0743250915) |
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The American Civil War; an overview by Carin T. Ford (Enslow, 2004; ISBN 0766022552) |
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The Battle of Antietam by Chris Hughes (Blackbirch, 2001; ISBN 1567115519) |
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The Battle of Antietam by Zachary Kent (Children's Press, 1992; ISBN 0516066579) |
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The Battle of Antietam by James P. Reger (Lucent, 1997; ISBN 1560064544) |
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The Battle of Gettysburg by Alden R. Carter (Franklin Watts, 1990; ISBN 053110852X) |
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The Causes of the Civil War by Dale Anderson (World Almanac Library, 2004; ISBN 0836855817) |
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The Civil War by Don Nardo (Lucent, 2003; ISBN 1590180682) |
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The Civil War by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier (Benchmark, 2000; ISBN 0761408185) |
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The Civil War: 1861-1863 (Historical Atlas) by Rebecca Stefoff (Benchmark, 2003; ISBN 0761413464) |
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The Civil War at Sea by Dale Anderson (World Almanac Library, 2004; ISBN 083685585X) |
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The Fullness of Times by Drew W Goodman (Eagle Gate, 2001;: ISBN 1573458678)* |
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The Long Road to Gettysburg by Jim Murphy Clarion, 2000; ISBN 0618051570) |
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The Most Fearful Ordeal; Original Coverage of the Civil War by James M. McPherson (St. Martin's Press, 2004; ISBN 0312331231) |
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The Perilous Road (Civil War) by Jean Fritz |
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The United States in the Civil War by Don Lawson (Abelard-Schuman, 1977; ISBN 0200001760) |
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The Visual Dictionary of the Civil War by John Stanchak (Dorling Kindersley, 2000; ISBN 0789451662)* |
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Union Generals of the Civil War by Carl R. Green and William R. Sandford (Enslow, ISBN 0766010287) |
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Ulysses S. Grant, Confident Leader and Hero (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 081267967) |
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Ulysses S. Grant by Judy Alter (Enslow, 2002; ISBN 0766050149) |
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Ulysses S. Grant by Steven O'Brien (Chelsea House, 1991; ISBN 1555468098) |
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Women at the Front by Jean F. Blashfield (Franklin Watts, 1997; ISBN 0531202755) |
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You Wouldn't Want to be a Civil War Soldier! by Thomas Ratliff, illustrated by David Antram (Franklin Watts, 2004; ISBN 0531123502) |
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Young Heroes of the North and South (Cobblestone, 2005; ISBN 0812679016) |
Activity Books:
| Civil War Cooking: The Confederacy by Susan Dosier (Capstone 2000 0736803505) |
| Civil War Cooking: The Union by Susan Dosier (Capstone 2000 1736803513) |
| Civil War Days by David C. King (John Wiley & Sons, 1999; ISBN 0471246123)* |
| Civil War Recipes by Lily May Spaulding and John Spaulding (University Press of Kentucky, 1999; ISBN 0813120829 |
| The Civil War for Kids by Janis Herbert (Chicago Review Press, 1999; ISBN 1556523556)* |
Fiction:
| Moon over Tennessee; a Boy's Civil War Journal by Craig Crist-Evans (Houghton, 1999; ISBN 0618311076) |
| Who Comes with Cannons? by Patricia Beatty (Morrow, 1992; ISBN 0688110282) |
Audio/visual:
There are many documentaries, mini-series and movies made about this war than we could possibly watch. Listed here are the ones that we thought worthy of listing. Please use parental guidance as these were not made for children and deal with war, adult issues and can be pretty graphic at times. This is a war and can be pretty hard to swallow for young (and old) viewers. A few of the fictional movies have adult situations that may warrant a hand on the remote to pause, and then skip over. Again, please review these videos before you show them to your children; we did and we are glad we did.
| Last Days of the Civil War (two discs) by A&E home video |
| Civil War by Ken Burns PBS |
| The Civil War Experience by Jay Wertz (Ballantine Books, 2005; ISBN 0891418822) |
| Civil War Minutes (2002-4) series that show up close some of the weapons, uniforms, flags, and other little known facts about the war as well as take major battles and focus on them in detail. |
| North and South (1985) Author John Jakes saga two close-knit families, one from the North the other from the South and their relationship. Parental guidance advised to handle adult situations. |
| The Blue and The Gray (1982) based on Bruce Catton works. Shows first hand how a family can be ripped apart. Parental guidance advised to handle adult situations. |
| Gone with the Wind (1939) Margaret Mitchell's sweeping drama. |
| Gettysburg (1993) Jeff Daniels plays Joshua Chamberlain in one of the most famous battles of the Civil War. Based on Michael Shaara's book The Killer Angels. Parental guidance advised for situational violence (it is a war movie). |
| Gods and Generals (2003) This movie is the prequel to Gettysburg and the book it was based on was written by Michael Shaara's son, Jeff. Parental guidance advised for situational violence (it is a war movie). |
| Glory (1989) A movie that tells what it was like for the 54th Massachusetts; the war's most famous African American regiment. |
| The Red Badge of Courage (1951) Stephen's Crane's classic novel in a movie setting. POWERFUL! |
| Robert E. Lee (1995) Biography |
Websites
General website:
| Civil War.com |
| Civil War for kids |
| The Civil War from Lee Bruce |
| The Civil War Preservation Trust |
| Great American History Civil War site |
| The History Place's Civil War page |
| The American' Civil War page by Dr. George Hoemann |
| Civil war archives by Mike Northway |
| Civil War Home by Shotgun |
| Civil War from History Central |
| Civil War timeline from Library of Congress |
| Civil War timeline from sparknotes.com |
| The Civil War from Americanrevwar.com |
| Civil War.net |
| American Civil War.com |
| United States Colored Troops during the Civil War |
| The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1981-1877 from the Library of Congress' The Learning Page |
| A Nation Divided |
| Civil War Album over 6,100 modern photos! |
| Civil War Muster |
| Civil War Songs |
Unit lessons:
| Lesson plans from small planet.com |
| Civil War from 42explore2 (great link and unit) |
| The War Across Five Aprils a families homeschooling study of the Civil War--great ideas, books, links etc. A must look if you are doing a Civil War unit! |
| Highland Heritage Farms unit on Civil War |
| Literature of the Civil War from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute |
| Using Picture Books to Teach about the American Civil War |
Extra stuff:
| Glossary of Civil War Slang from Boone Bunny |
| Official Records of the War of the Rebellion from Civil War Home |
| Civil War Medicine from Civil War Home |
| Civil War Maps from National Geographic |
| Civil War Maps from the Library of Congress |
| Civil War Medicine |
| Civil War Medical Terminology by Jeffrey C. Weaver |
| Civil War in Miniature |
Confederate sites:
| Confederate Site of America (tons of links) |
| The Confederate War Department |
| Essays on the war from a southern perspective "Why American Want to Believe the Civil War as Fought to Free the Slaves" ~ "Myths & Realities of American Slavery" ~ "Black Confederates" ~ FAQ's |
| The Old Time South |
Battles:
| Battles by States from the National Park Service | ||||||||||||||
| Major Battles of the Civil War from Collectors Net | ||||||||||||||
| Battles in States (click on the state) | ||||||||||||||
| Gettysburg:
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| Harpers Ferry: | ||||||||||||||
| Antietam:
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| Fort Sumter:
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| Manassas (Bull Run):
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| Manassas (Bull Run) battle 2:
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| Chancellorsville:
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| Vicksburg:
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| Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing):
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| Chickamauga:
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After the War:
| History of Carpetbaggers |
Projects
| Map the battles and chart the winners. |
| Cook and eat like the soldiers. |
Writing assignments
| Keep a Civil War diary. |
| Research paper on an aspect of the war (person, place or event). |
| Answer the question, "Is the war over?" |
Completed: September 2006
Last update: January, 2007
Disclaimer: Though WALDSFE, Helaman's Academy and/or Doreen Blanding does its best to thoroughly screen every product, company, website and individual listed on these pages, please note that WALDSFE, Helaman's Academy and/or Doreen Blanding does not endorse any product, company, website or individual listed. If you have a problem with a page, find broken links, or companies that no longer support homeschooling please send email .
copyright © 2003-2008 Doreen Blanding, Helaman's Academy