Reading List

*These are in no particular order (well, except for the first one, heh).  

Non-Fiction

Behind the Rifle:  Women Soldiers in Civil War Mississippi, 2019 by me.  It is the first book about women soldiers with a regional focus.  However, I include new information about women who fought in battles outside the state and those who were from other parts of the country.  Click [HERE] to learn more.


They Fought Like Demons, 2002, Blanton and Cook.  The most definitive work on women soldiers so far.   Focuses only on women soldiers.  I include updates about some of the women they write about here on my blog and in my book.

Women on the Civil War Battlefront, 2006, Richard Hall.  Hall expanded on his own research from  Patriots in Disguise and that of Blanton and Cook to provide new information on some women soldiers.  Contains information about spies, nurses, and vivandieres as well as soldiers.  The last few chapters provide a wealth of information and include discussion on myths and apocryphal stories and case studies.  The appendices are extremely handy and include period documents and a brief list of women, named and unidentified, who served in various capacities.

An Uncommon Soldier:  The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, Alias Pvt. Lyons Wakeman, 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers-1862-1864, 1994, edited by Lauren Cook Burgess (co-authored They Fought Like Demons with DeAnne Blanton)

Clad in Uniform:  Women Soldiers of the Civil War, 1992, by Wendy King (now Ramsburg).  Short 25-page booklet which is out of print.

All the Daring of the Soldier:  Women of the Civil War Armies, 1999, by Elizabeth Leonard.  Includes nurses, spies, and vivandieres.

She Went to the Field:  Women Soldiers of the  Civil War, 2006, by Bonnie Tsui  Even though the subtitle is "women soldiers of the Civil War," nearly half of the book deals with nurses, spies, and vivandieres.

I'll Pass for Your Comrade:  Women Soldiers in the Civil War, 2008, by Anita Silva.  Written for a younger audience.  Short book of approximately 100 pages.

Lady Rebel:  The Story of Private Jane Perkins CSA, 2003, by Patty and George Beil.  Well over half of the book consists of a list names of Confederate dead buried at Point Lookout along with the roster of the Danville Artillery.  The Beils conducted genealogy research to trace Perkin's footsteps from Ireland and her path to Virginia.  The authors also provide very broad generalizations of her wartime experiences through the movement of her unit and their encounters.  My research calls into question some of their findings.

The Mysterious Private Thompson: The Double Life of Sarah Emma Edmonds, 2005, by Laura Leedy Gansler

A Call To Arms: The Civil War Adventures Of Sarah Emma Edmonds, Alias Private Frank Thompson, 2014, by P.G. Nagle

The Battle of Waynesboro, 2014, Richard L. Williams.  This 150th anniversary version includes an addendum written by Anita Henderson on Maria Lewis.

Courageous Women of the Civil War, 2016, by Melinda R. Cordell.  This book contains information on nurses and spies in addition to soldiers.  It is geared more towards young adults but contains new research that older adults will find interesting. 

Inventing Loreta Velazquez, 2016 by William C. "Jack" Davis.  Davis' thorough study provides probably the most complete account of the controversial woman who claimed service in the Confederate army.  However, most of Davis' work consists of his theories that he generated in the wake of a lack of definitive evidence to completely debunk her claims.  Click [HERE] to read my in-depth, critical review.

Fiction-in no particular order

Finding Home:  The Civil War Adventures of Private Miles, 2012, by J.A. Delcamp who is a friend of mine.  Her knowledge of women soldiers and experience as a woman soldier reenactor are apparent in the details.

High Hearts, 1986, by Rita Mae Brown

Girl in Blue, 2001, by Ann Rinaldi

Yankee in Atlanta, 2014, by Jocelyn Green

I Shall Be Near To You, 2014, Erin Lindsay McCabe 

Neverhome, 2014, Laird Hunt  (I don't recommend this one.)

Behind the Grey, 2013, Bobbye L. Hudspeth

Fire by Night, 2003, Lynn Austin

Sisters of Shiloh, 2015, Kathy Hepinstall

The Counterfeit, 2015, Tracy Winegar

The Discovered, 2016, Tracy Winegar (sequel to The Counterfeit)

The Emancipator, 2016, Tracy Winegar (sequel to The Discovered)

Soldier Girl Blue, 2019, James Knights (I have not yet read this novel.)


Memoirs Written by Women Soldiers

*I put these in their own category because they contain elements of both fiction and non-fiction.

Woman in Battle:  A Narrative of the Exploits, Adventures, and Travels of Madame Loreta Janeta Velazquez, Otherwise Known As Lieutenant Harry J. Buford, Confederate States Army, 1876, by Loreta Janeta Velazquez (this publication really made Jubal Early mad and he basically called her a liar by questioning her experiences;  James Longstreet, however, defended her.)

Memoirs of a Soldier, Nurse, and Spy in the Union Army, 1864, Sarah Emma Edmonds

My Friends' Civil War Books Not About Women Soldiers

*I am including this section to help support my friends who have offered their unwavering support of me and my research.  Now, even though I say that these books are not about women soldiers, some of them nevertheless include at least a brief mention of women soldiers.  If I have left any out, I sincerely apologize!  Contact me, and I'll add the publications to the list.

Men of Flesh and Blood, novel by Shane Christen, 2018

In Their Letters, in Their Words:  Illinois Soldiers Write Home, Mark Flotow, 2019

Above Us Or Around Us, four-volume set detailing the history of the 8th Indiana Infantry by Jenny Thompson

Keeping with Indiana, Margaret Hobson has several volumes detailing the history of the 44th Indiana Infantry

Chicago's Irish Legion:  The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War, James B. Swan, 2009

The Civil War Siege of Jackson, Mississippi, Jim Woodrick, 2016

Grady Howell has written and self published quite a few history books, most of which center around a Mississippi Civil War connection.  My favorite is To Live and Die in Dixie:  A History of the Third Mississippi Infantry, C.S.A. because it is a regimental history where most of my relatives served.  Visit his website [HERE] to order his books.

Iowa Confederates in the Civil War, David Connon, 2019

Death of an Assassin:  The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee, Ann Marie Ackermann, 2017, centers around the Mexican War

Lest We Forget:  The Immortal 7th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, Volumes 1 and 2 by Ron Skellie, 2013

What I Learned at the 'Zoo by Dale Beasley (not Civil War related) , 2020

Various paranormal and fantasy works by Sheritta Bitifoker:  https://www.amazon.com/Sheritta-Bitikofer/e/B00VFAI5KG%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

 Phil McBride has several Civil War novels available here:  https://www.amazon.com/Philip-McBride/e/B00HPM46A6/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

The Last Siege:  The Mobile Campaign, Alabama 1865, Paul Brueske, 2018 

Work for Giants, Thomas E. Parson, 2014

Gary L. Dyson has a few titles including: Confederate Row: The Confederate Dead Buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, Maryland, 1862-1907 (2020) and A Civil War Correspondent in New Orleans: The Journals and Reports of Albert Gaius Hills of the Boston Journal (2012).