The Civil War was the mot devastating war in the history of the United States and there have been millions of books written on the subject. I have found that it is difficult to find books that are based on fact without a lot of personal bias from the writer. This makes it hard to determine what would be good research material or not. In this essay I will assess five books on the Civil War and determine their ability to give the facts instead of the author's opinionated views.
             The first book I read was A Visit to the Confederate States of America by Charles Girard. This book is a memoir, written to Napoleon III, describing what Girard saw as he toured the south during the war. His purpose was to study the Confederate States of America in order to understand why they were fighting for their independence. The book goes into great detail in describing the immediate causes of the Civil War, the Confederate Government, Manufacturing of Weapons, and also the new Confederacy after the war. Much of his information is accurate because he was actually there to see all of this first hand. For example, Girard describes the Tregadar Iron Works inside and out because he was given a tour by a "Mr. Tanner"(p. 57). He gives information like what they were manufacturing such as steel for ships and ammunition, which the south always had a shortage of. He then goes on to say that it was recently destroyed by fire which "hurt the Confederate spirit at such a tum!
             ultuous time." Girard also gives first hand accounts of other facilities such as a weapons factory near the Tregadar Iron Works and a few military bases and naval bases. Another interesting and informative piece in this book is Girard's separate review of all the public services of the Confederate Government as well as a breakdown of the hierarchy from Jefferson Davis down to the admirals and generals in the military forces. The Departments of War...