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Looking to do some reading on William T. Sherman's March to the Sea? We asked Bennett Parten, a professor of history at Georgia Southern University who is completing a book on the history of emancipation in the wake of Sherman's March, for his five essential books on one of the war’s most consequential campaigns. Below are his selections.

Stephen Berry's "Count the Dead" is a little book that packs a huge punch.

On March 28, 1863, Harper's Weekly published Alfred R. Waud's description, and associated illustration, of an army straggler—a class of soldier encountered repeatedly during the conflict by the famous sketch artist. It follows, in full:

Holly A. Pinheiro Jr.'s "The Families' Civil War" enhances our understanding of the war's lived consequences in general, and the African American military experience in particular.

Steven Cowie's "When Hell Came to Sharpsburg" offers the most comprehensive accounting to date of all that a Civil War battle did to an individual community.

The March 28, 1863, issue of Harper's Weekly included the following article about, and illustration of, Jim Williams, a formerly enslaved man who assisted Union forces during their presence in Lousiana. Nothing more is known about Williams' wartime service or postwar life.

Harold M. Knudsen's "James Longstreet and the American Civil War" seeks to prove that the general possessed a strategic and tactical prowess exceeding the estimates of his postwar detractors.

On the first day of my American West in History and Film class, I ask students to explain where the historical West of their imaginations is located, when it existed, and what characteristics make it distinctly “western.” As the discussion progresses, it gradually becomes clear that, though each of them assumes their version is the West, we all have different ideas about the American West, be...

"W.G." presents a fascinating character whose life reflects the complex and often troubled nature of nineteenth century America.

Laura F. Edwards' "Only the Clothes on Her Back" is a compelling work of legal history, written with clarity and verve.