Now Show Them What Rhode Island Can Do! An Annotated Bibliography of Rhode Island Civil War Sources

Rhode Islanders served in nearly every major battle of the war, firing the first infantry shots at Bull Run, and some of the last by the cavalry at Appomattox. Over 23,000 Rhode Islanders enlisted in the Civil War; over 2,000 gave the ultimate sacrifice.

From 1862 until the second decade of the twentieth century, the soldiers and sailors of Rhode Island also left an indelible mark on the pages of history by writing and publishing many histories of their participation in the Civil War. Indeed, with the exception of Batteries C and G, First Rhode Island Light Artillery and the Second and Third Rhode Island Cavalry Regiments, every unit sent from Rhode Island published a history written by men who served in the organization. Over the last century these veteran-published sources were added to by scores of other books and articles by scholars, buffs, and those interested in Rhode Island’s role in the Civil War. Indeed, Rhode Island has perhaps the greatest written record of any northern state in the Civil War era.

This volume represents every known published work (books, pamphlets, thesis, and monographs) relating to Rhode Island and the Civil War published between 1862 and 2018. Chapters include: General Sources, Biographical Sources, Rhode Island Militia Sources, Infantry Sources, Light Artillery Sources, Heavy Artillery Sources, Cavalry Sources, Naval Sources, Town Histories, Monuments and Cemeteries, and Conclusions, which discusses the future of publications about Rhode Island and the Civil War. Historical value has been annotated for each entry.