We currently have more than 1,400 books, diaries and letters in our virtual library. Some are available online, others through repositories across the country. We also have several hundred more that need to be catalogued.
Basic Reading about Vermont in the Civil War
George Grenville Benedict's Vermont in the Civil War: A History of the Part Taken by Vermont Soldiers and Sailors in the War for the Union, 1861-1865, published in two volumes in 1886 and 1888 remains the definitive work on Vermont's participation in the War of Rebellion. Appointed State Military Historian by the Vermont Legislature, Benedict relied extensively on primary materials, including the Official Records, reports of the Vermont Adjutant General from 1862 to 1866, input from surviving participants and his own experiences to produce a substantive document.
Howard Coffin added "Full Duty: Vermonters in the Civil War," in 1993; it is well presented and easy to read, but unfortunately does not include footnotes, making additional research difficult.
Most regiments did not have their services recorded, most conspicously regiments of the 1st Vermont Brigade. Until recently, the only published work covering the exploits of Vermont's Old Brigade was Aldace Walker's The Vermont Brigade in the Shenandoah Valley, 1864, which only covered a six month period of the brigade's history. George Parsons added Put The Vermonters Ahead: The First Vermont Brigade in the Civil War in 1996. Regimental histories of the Second Infantry Regiment, by Paul Zeller, and the Third Infantry Regiment, by Bob Poirier, have been added to the list. The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Regiments are still lacking substantive histories.
Chaplain Edwin M. Haynes penned A history of the Tenth Regiment, Vermont Volunteers in 1870, which included "biographical sketches of the officers who fell in battle. And a complete roster of all the officers and men connected with it--showing all changes by promotion, death or resignation, during the military existence of the regiment." A second edition, greatly enlarged, was published in 1894.
The Second Vermont Brigade faired slightly better during the 19th Century. George Benedict published Army Life in Virginia: Letters from the Twelfth Vermont Regiment and personal experiences of volunteer service in the war for the Union, 1862-63, in 1895. The Pictorial History: Thirteenth Vermont Volunteers, War of 1861-1865, edited by Ralph Sturtevant, contains hundreds photographs of regimental members, a detailed history of the regiment, introductions to each of the companies and biographical sketches of many of the soldiers (some of them autobiographical). John C. Williams contributed his journal, Life in Camp: A History of the Nine Months' Service of the Fourteenth Vermont Regiment, From October 21, 1862, When It was Mustered into the U.S. Service, to July 21, 1863, Including the Battle of Gettysburg, in 1864.
The only book published on Vermont Sharpshooters to date was written by William Youn Warren Ripley, Vermont Riflemen in the War for the Union, l86l to l865: A History of Company F, First United States Sharp Shooters. in 1883.
Nothing of substance has been written about Vermont's three Light Infantry Batteries, or the Frontier Cavalry (officially Companies F and M of the 26th New York Cavalry).
You can also search Google for books