Alasandra's Book Club ~ Chickamauga by Shelby Foote

Provisional Inaugural by Jefferson Davis - This should be required reading of everyone in the U.S.

Our present position has been achieved in a manner unprecedented in the history of nations. It illustrates the American idea that government rests upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish a government whenever it becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established. The declared purposes of the compact of Union from which we have withdrawn were to establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, to provide for the common defence, to promote the general welfare, and to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity; and when in the judgment of the sovereign States now comprising this Confederacy it had been perverted from the purposes for which it was ordained, and had ceased to answer the ends for which it was established, an appeal to the ballot box declared that so far as they were concerned the government created by that compact should cease to exist. In this they merely asserted a right which the Declaration of Independence of 1776 defined to be inalienable. Of the time and occasion for its exercise, they, as sovereign, were the final judges each for itself. The impartial and enlightened verdict of mankind will vindicate the rectitude of our conduct, and He who knows the hearts of men will judge the sincerity with which we have labored to preserve the government of our fathers, in its spirit and in those rights inherent in it, which were solemnly proclaimed at the birth of the States, and which have been affirmed and reaffirmed in the Bills of Rights of the several States. When they entered into the Union of 1789, it was with the undeniable recognition of the power of the people to resume the authority delegated for the purposes of that government whenever, in their opinion, its functions were perverted and its ends defeated. By virtue of this authority, the time and occasion requiring them to exercise it having arrived, the sovereign States here represented have seceded from that Union, and it is a gross abuse of language to denominate the act rebellion or revolution. They have formed a new alliance, but in each State its government has remained as before. The rights of person and property have not been disturbed. The agency through which they have communicated with foreign powers has been changed, but this does not necessarily interrupt their international relations.

The Night of Chancellorsville by F. Scott Fitzgerald - How some working girls were on their way to Virginia to entertain the soldiers when the train was taken over to carry the wounded.

Chickamauga by Thomas Wolfe - an old man tell what the Civil War was like for him.

My Grandmother Millard and General Bedford Forrest and the Battle of Harrykin Creek by William Faulkner ~ Faulkner at his best. Grandmother Millard is determined to hide her valuables from the Yankees. Unfortunately when the Yankee's come calling they don't have time to bury the valuables as they have been practicing forever, so cousin Melisandre is persuaded to hide in the outhouse with them under her skirts. The dastardly Yankee's not to be thwarted turn over the outhouse but not to fear (the soon to be cousin) Philip rides to the rescue. Due to his unfortunate last name Melisandre refuses to have anything to do with him, which leads him to behave in a reckless manner. In order to resolve the issue Grandmother Millard and General Bedford Forrest arrange for Philip _________ (you'll have to read the book to discover his last name) to die at the Battle of Harrykin Creek and Philip _____________ to take his place. Melisandre then consents to marry Philip and General Bedford Forrest can get on with his war.

The Burning by Eudora Welty
What happens when union soldiers burn the home of two Southern Ladies along with their secrets.

These were my favourites from the book, but there were many more selections to choose from.