Books

To commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of the Civil War (2011-2015), the National Park Service has gone beyond the well-known battles and heroes to tell the lesser-known stories in order to make this critical event in the nation's history more relevant to more people. To this end, we developed a series of books on the contributions of diverse ethnic groups to the Civil War.

 

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Asians and Pacific Islanders and the Civil War

NPS

In the last several decades a small group of historians, researchers, writers and civil war enthusiasts have begun to recover the stories of these forgotten warriors. Anglicized and ambiguous names and haphazard documentation make it difficult to find these men and confirm their ethnicity, but researchers have identified several hundred soldiers and sailors who served from Asia and the Pacific Islands. Some fought for the Union and some for the Confederacy. There are perhaps many more. These are some of their stories.


Visit the America's National Parks website, or click on the image, to read this book.

For a list of Asian & Pacific Islanders by Country of Origin, click here.

For more information on Asian & Pacific Islanders in the Civil War, alphabetically by name, click here.

For more information on Hawaiians in the Civil War, alphabetically by name, click here.

 

American Indians in the Civil War

NPS

In a war that freed enslaved African Americans, most Indian people fought to stay free in a land once theirs alone. A crucial part of the Civil War story is that more than 20,000 American Indians fought on both sides of the conflict. Many who fought thought they'd be able to protect their lands, instead, federal Indian policy became more perverse during the war, eventually leading to Westward expansion and the devastation of Native peoples. In a war that freed enslaved African Americans, most Indian people fought to stay free in a land once theirs alone. A crucial part of the Civil War story is that more than 20,000 American Indians fought on both sides of the conflict. Many who fought thought they'd be able to protect their lands, instead, federal Indian policy became more perverse during the war, eventually leading to Westward expansion and the devastation of Native peoples.


Visit the America's National Parks website, or click on the image, to read this book.

 

Hispanics and the Civil War

NPS

The Civil War. For many Americans this conflict evokes images of the storied battlefields of North and South and of dramatic changes in the lives of Americans of African and Anglo descent. Lesser known is the story of the people of Spanish ancestry who participated in this epic conflict and of the many battles that took place in the West, in areas of large Hispanic populations and strong Spanish heritage.

Click here, or on the image, to read this book.

Click here to read the content of this book in text form.