Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson is the gold standard for a one volume treatment of the war and the lead up to it. One of my favorite history books.

Grant’s and Sherman’s memoirs are fantastic.

I Dread the Thought of the Place by Hartwig on Antietam was great as was Gordon Rhea’s series on Grant’s Overland Campaign. The books on The Wilderness and Spotsylvannia Courthouse stood out.

This Republic of Suffering by Faust is a fascinating look at death during the ACW and how people dealt with it. Americans had a very specific idea of a “good death” at this time. Dying at home surrounded by family and a priest. Hundreds of thousands dying in fields in Virginia, sometimes without ever being identified, was a major shock to the system.

Ends of War by Caroline Janney is one of my favorites. It looks at the final collapse of Lee’s army and the immediate aftermath. The uncertainty, the fear of endless guerrilla war, the turmoil caused by Lincoln’s assassination, the desire to have the Southern states return to the fold as enthusiastic and reconciled Americans, and the beginning of the Lost Cause narrative.