American Civil War Historical Fiction

Newbery Medalist Christopher Paul Curtis brings his trademark humor and heart to the story of a boy struggling to do right in the face of history's cruelest evils. Twelve-year-old Charlie is down on his luck: His dad just died, the share crops are dry, and Cap'n Buck--the most fearsome man in...

Debut novelist Lisa Lewis Tyre vibrantly brings a small town and its outspoken characters to life, as she explores race and other community issues from both the Civil War and the present day. Lou might be only twelve, but she’s never been one to take things sitting down. So when her Civil...

Twenty-nine-year-old Abraham Lincoln has spent his entire adult life running from his past - from the poverty of the dirt-floor log cabin where he was raised, from the dominion of his uneducated father, and from a failed early courtship. But now, Lincoln's past is racing back to haunt him. It is the summer of 1838, and Springfield is embroiled in a tumultuous, violent political season. All of Springfield's elite have gathered at a grand party to celebrate the Fourth of July. Spirits are high - until a prominent local politician is assassinated in the midst of fireworks.

In her national bestseller Alice I Have Been, Melanie Benjamin imagined the life of the woman who inspired Alice in Wonderland. Now, in this jubilant new novel, Benjamin shines a dazzling spotlight on another fascinating female figure whose story has never fully been told: a woman who became a...

Twelve Years a Slave is the autobiographical account of Solomon Northup, an African American who was born free in New York in the early 1800s. In 1841, Solomon Northup was captured and forced into slavery for a period of twelve years. Northup's account is detailed in its account of life on a cotton and sugar plantation and the daily routine of slave life during the first part of the 19th century.

New York Times bestselling author Sally Jenkins and distinguished Harvard professor John Stauffer mine a nearly forgotten piece of Civil War history and strike gold in this surprising account of the only Southern county to secede from the Confederacy. The State of Jones is a true story about the...

A riveting evocation of the Civil War, drawn from the true family history of "America's best novelist" (The Denver Post), JAMES LEE BURKE 1861. Two young Southerners, friends despite their differing political views and backgrounds, enlist in the 18th Louisiana regiment of the Confederate Army...

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Women, a historical novel about three women’s lives on a California island On a tiny, desolate, windswept island off the coast of Southern California, two families, one in the 1880s and one in the 1930s, come to start new lives and pursue...

New York Times bestselling author Sally Jenkins and distinguished Harvard professor John Stauffer mine a nearly forgotten piece of Civil War history and strike gold in this surprising account of the only Southern county to secede from the Confederacy. The State of Jones is a true story about the...

For three long years, the American Civil War has raged across the nation, scorching the land, leaving thousands dead, and tearing families apart. The endless fighting has hardened the hearts of soldiers of both sides. But on a lonely field in mid-Tennessee, some of those soldiers will come face to face with one another in a series of ball games. Stalled in a stalemate, the soldiers start out with small bets on who is better at the game; but as the wagers increase, so do the risks.

Three years have passed since General Robert E. Lee routed the Union army at Gettysburg and caused the Lincoln government to flee Washington, D.C. Now, as president of the Confederacy, Lee realizes the hollowness of his victory as he watches the South he loved and defended slowly crumble before his eyes. Lee must reach out to the only man he believes can help him save the South - the disgraced and out-of-office President Abraham Lincoln. Amidst intense opposition, the two men secretly devise a plan that, if successful, could reunite the country once again.

With the outbreak of Civil War, two slave brothers embark on a quest. Aided by the abolitionist underground movement, they escape the confines of the plantation to enlistment into the famed 54th Massachusetts colored infantry. Facing prejudice, their bravery under fire against the Confederate army, earning them respect from their white colleagues. The heroism of the 54th would forever go down in history.

Henry Marts was 19 years old when he defied his Quaker faith and answered the call from President Lincoln to defend the Union. Fully expecting to be home in a matter of months, Henry left behind his parents, his work as an oysterman, his sea captain brother Will, and his sweetheart Christiana. Henry, and his comrades in the 3rd Regiment New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, would experience some of the most compelling moments of the Eastern campaigns.

This is the story of 12-year-old Annie Jewel Bounds, taken from letters and publications of the time; the story of a girl who would have gone off to war with her father, but when he is lost in battle, she convinces her mother to allow her to dress as a Yankee drummer boy and march off with a unit that will be discharged in just six weeks. Her adventure places her in the thick of the fire and smoke at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri. Fought on August 10, 1861, it is the first battle of the Civil War.

From Vienna's barricades to bleeding Kansas to the Civil War, August Bondi was continuously engaged in the struggle for freedom for half of his young adult life. As an old man, he wrote down what he remembered, and author Aaron Barnhart closely followed Bondi's autobiography in writing Firebrand. Barnhart also drew upon the 1958 novel Border Hawk: August Bondi, by children's author Lloyd Alexander (winner of the Newbery Medal and National Book Award), to bring Bondi's story back to life.

My two great-grandfathers, Jasper Smith and Ellwood Janney, served in the 18th Michigan Infantry during the American Civil War. In 1864 the 18th found itself in Decatur, Alabama, way down south across the Tennessee River. There, along with newly organized Black Union soldiers, they had to stop Confederate forces under General Hood and the notorious Nathan Bedford Forrest. Had they failed, Nashville likely would have fallen into Confederate control and caused the defeat of President Lincoln in the looming election.

Mark was born on the third of July. He grew up believing his birthday had no meaning other than the day he was born. At the end of the school year in the fifth grade, his strict but fair teacher, Mr. Herzog, tells Mark about a great battle that happened on his birthday. His teacher called it, "The defining moment in American history." Mark celebrates his eleventh birthday followed by America's independence in none other than Independence, Missouri.

In 1861, 16-year-old Joe Roberts leads a mundane life as far as he's concerned. His world spins in the same circle each day: working at his family's store, taking his sisters on boyish escapades, and bickering with his rogue of a cousin, Lucas. Joe can't understand why his mother allows Lucas to live and work with them after all the pain he caused their family. When war is declared, Joe is quick to join up and become a soldier with the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers, but war is nothing like he imagined.