Selected References
Here in one location is a list of selected sources for readers interested in pursuing deeper research. With your help I would like to include here all known sources concerning the 63rd Georgia Infantry and the soldiers in it. Specifically, I solicit references to all known personal correspondence (such as the WHH letters), published or not, as well as references to family genealogy web sites that include soldiers of the 63rd.
The primary reference for this web site is the O. R. (short for Official Records). Correctly referencing the O.R. and finding specific information in the O.R. requires some understanding of how the 70 volumes of the O.R. are organized.
The complete title is: The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. The editor of record was Brevet Lieut. Col. Robert N. Scott, 3rd U.S. Artillery.
The 70 individual bound volumes are organized into four series, plus the Index:
Series I – Military Operations
(containing Volumes I – LII)
Series II – Prisoners
(containing Volumes I – VIII)
Series III – Union Authorities
(containing Volumes I – V)
Series IV – Confederate Authorities
(containing Volumes I – IV)
Within each Series are Volumes starting with roman numeral I. The intent was for each volume to be a separate bound book. In Series I, however, this became impractical beginning with Volume X. In thirty-six cases, the Volume is subdivided into Parts from roman numeral I up to V, these Parts being separate bound books.
Within each Series are Chapters beginning with roman numeral I that cross Volumes in the Series. For example, Volume IV in Series I contains Chapters XI - XIII. The Chapter titles are long descriptive sentences, followed by the inclusive dates.
The actual contents in each Series are arranged chronologically, with Union reports preceeding Confederate reports of the same event, beginning December 20, 1860.
Starting with Series I, Volume XXIV, a serial Arabic number (beginning with 1) was added to the spine (but not on the title page). Series I used serial numbers 1 – 111. Series II used serial numbers 114 – 121. Series III used serial numbers 122 – 126. Series IV used serial numbers 127 – 129. The Index used serial number 130.
Anderson, Major Edward C. and W. Stanley Hoole (Ed.). Confederate Foreign Agent: The European Diary of Major Edward C. Anderson. Tuscaloosa, AL: Confederate Publishing Company, 1976.
Castel, Albert. Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1992. ISBN: 0700605622.
Clements, James Bagley. History of Irwin County. Atlanta: Foote & Davies Co., 1932.
Confederate Pension Roll, Irwin County, State of Georgia, Court of Ordinary, 1895-1914. Salt Lake City, UT: The Genealogical Society, Microfilm 394627.
Confederate Pension Roll, Pike County, State of Georgia, Court of Ordinary, 1890-1920. Salt Lake City, UT: The Genealogical Society, Microfilm 325832.
Crute, Joseph H. Jr. Units of the Confederate States Army. Gaithersburg, MD: Old Soldier Books, 1987. ISBN: 0942211537.
Cunningham, Horace Herndon. Doctors in Gray: The Confederate Medical Service. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1993. ISBN: 0807118567.
Derry, Joseph Tyrone. Memories of '64. Atlanta: Franklin Printing & Publishing Co., 1902.
Dickey, Thomas S. and Peter C. George. Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War. Atlanta: Arsenal Press, 1993. ISBN: 0960902201.
Harden, William. Recollections of a Long and Satisfactory Life. Savannah: Review Printing Co., 1934.
Henderson, Lillian (Ed.). Roster of the Confederate Soldiers of Georgia 1861-1865: Volume VI. State of Georgia: 1964.
Huddleston, J. R. and Charles O. Walker. From Heretics to Heroes: A Study of Religious Groups in Georgia With Primary Emphasis on the Baptists. 1976.
Durham, Roger S. (Ed.). The Blues In Gray: THe Civil War Journal of William Daaniel Dixon and the Republican Blues Daybook. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2000. ISBN: 1572331011.
Indexed Atlas of the World. Chicago: Rand McNally & Co., 1892. (New Business Atlas Map of Georgia)
Iobst, Richard William. Civil War Macon: The History of a Confederate City. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1999. ISBN: 978-0865546349.
Joslyn, Mauriel Phillips. Charlotte's Boys: The Civil War Letters of the Branch Family of Savannah. Berryville, VA: Rockbridge Publishing Company, 1996. ISBN: 1883522129.
King, Spencer Bidwell Jr. Ebb Tide: As Seen Through the Diary of Josephine Clay Habersham, 1863. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1958. ISBN: 0865542864.
Krakow, Kenneth K. Georgia Place-Names: Their History and Origins (2nd Ed.). Macon, GA: Winship Press, 1994. ISBN: 0915430010.
Kurtz, Elma S. (Ed.).”War Diary of Cornelius R. Hanleiter.” Atlanta Historical Bulletin, Vol. XIV, No. 3 (1969); and Vol. XV, Nos. 1-3 (1970). Atlanta Historical Society.
Lawrence, Alexander A. A Present for Mr. Lincoln: The Story of Savannah from Secession to Sherman. Savannah: The Oglethorpe Press, 1997. ISBN: 1891495003.
Melton, Jack W. and Lawrence E. Pawl. Guide to Civil War Artillery Projectiles. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 1996. ISBN: 1577471067.
Ripley, Warren. Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War, 4th Rev. Ed. Charleston, SC: Battery Press, 1984. ISBN: 0883940035.
Selected Records of the War Department Relating to Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865. National Archives, Series M598, Cabinet 75, Drawer 8, Roll 1, microfilm image 186.
Skinner, Arthur N. and James L. Skinner (Eds.). The Death of a Confederate: Selections from the Letters of the Archibald Smith Family of Roswell, Georgia, 1864-1956. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 1996. ISBN: 0820318442. This reference shows the locations of Caustin's Bluff, Ways Station No. 1 1/2, Fort Thunderbolt, Fort McAllister, Genesis Point, Montgomery, Beaulieu Battery, Skidaway Island, Isle of Hope, Whitemarsh Island, and White Bluff.
Smedlund, William S. Camp Fires of Georgia’s Troops, 1864 – 1865. Lithonia, GA: Kennesaw Mountain Press, 1994. ISBN: 0963586122.
Thomas, Dean S. Cannons: An Introduction to Civil War Artillery. Gettysburg, PA: Thomas Publications, 1985. ISBN: 0939631032.
Upson, Theodore F. and Oscar Osburn Winther (Ed.). With Sherman to the Sea, the Civil War Letters, Diaries and Reminiscences of Theodore F. Upson. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1943.
Walker, Scott. Hell's Broke Loose in Georgia: Survival in a Civil War Regiment. Athens: The University of Georgia Press, 2005. ISBN: 0820329339.
Wheeler, Otis T. The Literary Career of Maurice Thompson. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1965. ISBN: 080710826X.