James Reasoner Civil War Series
Encyclopedia
The American Civil War Battle Series by author James Reasoner
James Reasoner
American author James Reasoner specializes in historical military novels, westerns, and mysteries. He also writes under the pseudonyms "Mike Jameson" and "Dana Fuller Ross." He has written more than 40 novels. His spouse, Livia Washburn Reasoner, is also a prolific writer of westerns, mysteries,...

 is a ten volume series of historical novels about the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. The series centers on the fictional Brannon family, which resides in Culpeper, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, a village and county in north central Virginia north of the Rapidan River
Rapidan River
The Rapidan River, flowing through north-central Virginia in the United States, is the largest tributary of the Rappahannock River. The two rivers converge just west of the city of Fredericksburg...

 that served as a major supply depot for the Confederate army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...

. Each novel in Reasoner's series revolves around a Civil War major battle or campaign.

The ten novels in series order:
  1. Manassas
    First Battle of Bull Run
    First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...

    , published by Cumberland House in spring, 1999. ISBN 1-58182-008-9.
  2. Shiloh
    Battle of Shiloh
    The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...

    , published by Cumberland House in fall, 1999. ISBN 1-58182-248-0.
  3. Antietam
    Battle of Antietam
    The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...

    , published by Cumberland House in spring, 2000. ISBN 1-58182-275-8.
  4. Chancellorsville
    Battle of Chancellorsville
    The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...

    , published by Cumberland House in fall, 2000. ISBN 1-58182-300-2.
  5. Vicksburg
    Battle of Vicksburg
    The Siege of Vicksburg was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. In a series of maneuvers, Union Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee crossed the Mississippi River and drove the Confederate army of Lt. Gen. John C...

    , published by Cumberland House in spring, 2001. ISBN 1-58182-372-X.
  6. Gettysburg
    Battle of Gettysburg
    The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...

    , published by Cumberland House in fall, 2001. ISBN 1-58182-381-9.
  7. Chickamauga
    Battle of Chickamauga
    The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...

    , published by Cumberland House in spring, 2002. ISBN 1-58182-405-X.
  8. Shenandoah
    Valley Campaigns of 1864
    The Valley Campaigns of 1864 were American Civil War operations and battles that took place in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia from May to October 1864. Military historians divide this period into three separate campaigns, but it is useful to consider the three together and how they...

    , published by Cumberland House in fall, 2002. ISBN 1-58182-435-1.
  9. Savannah
    Sherman's March to the Sea
    Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...

    , published by Cumberland House in spring, 2003. ISBN 1-58182-467-X.
  10. Appomattox
    Appomattox Campaign
    The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...

    , published by Cumberland House in spring, 2003. ISBN 1-58182-513-7.

The Brannon family

The Brannon family owns a farm in Culpeper County just outside of the village of Culpeper. John Brannon has died as the first novel Manassas begins in January 1861. John was an avid fan of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

. Matriarch Abigail Brannon oversees the farm with her six children, who have been named after William Shakespeare and characters from his plays. The Brannon children are William (Will), MacBeth (Mac), Titus, Cory, Henry, and Cordelia. The family is drawn into the events of the coming war.

The War

Will, the Culpeper sheriff, enlists in the Confederate Army prior to the First Battle of Manassas. Mac later enlists in the Confederate Cavalry and serves under Generals Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee
Fitzhugh Lee , nephew of Robert E. Lee, was a Confederate cavalry general in the American Civil War, the 40th Governor of Virginia, diplomat, and United States Army general in the Spanish-American War.-Early life:...

 and J.E.B. Stuart
J.E.B. Stuart
James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...

. Hard-drinking Titus and little brother Henry fight both the Union Army and each other (over a woman). Cordelia's initial love interest enlists in the Union Army. Cory drifts west and finds employment on a Mississippi river boat. Corey becomes marginally involved in the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...

 and the Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....

. When the Union Army moves south later in the war, the Brannon family farm becomes a battlefield.

Book 1 Manassas

The first book in the series begins with the oldest of the Brannon clan as Sheriff of the county. He and his deputy Luther Strawn are bent on bringing the Fogarty clan to justice. This coming with the Brannons already having a long running feud with the Fogartys. This leads to Luther Strawn's death, Henry (the youngest brother) being shot, the burning of the barn, and Abagail's disowning of Will. Will joins the newly formed Confederacy and fights in the first battle of Manassas.
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