BOOKS ABOUT THE 46TH PENNSYLVANIA
The veterans who served with the 46th Pennsylvania were never able to produce their own history of the unit. That void has now been filled with the publication of two new books: Surviving Stonewall, which tells the story of the 46th Pennsylvania Volunteers during the first two years of the war; and They Knew No Glory, which provides the history of the 46th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, led by the veterans of the first two years, but with its ranks filled with new faces, who together fought with William Tecumseh Sherman to bring the war to its end.
Surviving Stonewall
This book, Part One, tells the story of the 46th Pennsylvania from the time of its formation in September 1861 through the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. On September 16, 1861 more than 950 men left Harrisburg with the flag of the 46th Pennsylvania. Less than one-third of them arrived at Gettysburg. In between, they had fought for two years almost entirely against Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, Antietam and Chancellorsville. Author George Bradley brings you the story of these soldiers as they themselves told it in more than 1,100 pension applications, and in scores of other diaries, letters, and other primary source materials. Called by one prominent collector the best unit history he has ever read, the new, revised and expanded Second Edition of this 5-star rated book is available in print for $14.99 or as a Kindle from Amazon.com.
They Knew No Glory
This newly published book, Part Two, picks up the story of the 46th Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863, when officers were dispatched to military draft rendezvous points to forward men to fill its badly depleted ranks. In the winter of 1863-1864, most of the veterans re-enlisted and recruited still more men to bring the regiment back up to full strength. They then left their camp in Tennessee to be part of Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and the Campaign in the Carolinas that brought the Civil War to a close. Based on the same primary sources as Surviving Stonewall, this book also tells the story of the Civil War from the perspective of the men who stood on the firing lines, and paid the price of doing so with life and limb. Available in paperback for $14.99, or as a Kindle book, both from Amazon.com.
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Other books you may find of interest:
American Citizen
The Civil War Writings of Capt. George A. Brooks, Company D, 46th Pennsylvania.
Many years ago, the descendants of Capt. Brooks donated his diary to the Southern Historical Collection of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Library. It covers the period from January to August 1862. Ben Myers dug further, located Brooks’ descendants, and from them much of Brooks’ pre-war correspondence, and also located many of the newspaper articles Brooks, an aspiring printer, sent back to the Harrisburg newspapers. Brooks was an excellent writer with a broad vocabulary. His diary entries and newspaper reports are some of the best original source material describing the Union pursuit of Stonewall Jackson in the early spring of 1862, and of the action on the Federal left flank during the First Battle of Winchester. The diary ends just before the Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, and Brooks was killed a month later at Antietam. Myers goes beyond the bounds of Brooks’ writings providing accounts of events, maps of routes traveled and battles fought, and numerous other illustrations.
Available in paperback for $24.95 from Amazon
Bethlehem Boy
The Civil War Letters and Diary of James A. Peifer, Co. C, 46th Pennsylvania edited by Carolyn W. Abel & Patricia N. McAndrew
Published in 2007, but unfortunately no longer in print, Peifer’s writings cover the entire war, the only shortcoming (for students of the 46th) being that he physically broke down after the Battle of Cedar Mountain and was away from the regiment for nearly a year recuperating. Peifer was both literate and a faithful correspondent, and was often full of news about regimental politics as well as about the details of the battles and campaigns he participated in.
Available from numerous used-book dealers and resellers.
From the Cannon’s Mouth
The Civil War Letters of General Alpheus S. Williams, Milo M. Quaife, editor.
From October 1861 through the end of the war, Alpheus Williams commanded either the brigade, division or corps in which the 46th Pennsylvania served. His letters and after-action reports are full of detail, fair-minded, and give an open view into the mind of one of the most dedicated of the Union’s general officers, who never allowed points of pride or personal slights to affect the dedication he had to the men he led and the cause they were fighting for. “Ol’ Pap” Williams paints a vivid picture of the war he and his men fought.
First published in 1959, copies of the original edition can sometimes be found at very reasonable prices from used books sellers, as can a later-released paperback edition. However, this book has recently been re-released as a Kindle book from Amazon for $4.99