7th CT: Seventh Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry: January 1864 to August 1865

Unit: 7th Connecticut

Unit Affiliation: (2), 1, X and (2), 1, XXIV

Title: Seventh Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry: Joe Hawley’s Boys-In Their Own Words: A Detailed, Illustrated History of the Regiment and Its Service in the Civil War, Volume 2 (January 1864 to August 1865)

Author: David M. Moore

SOPO’s Take: WOW.  8.4 pounds.  That’s the title of the lengthy interview John Banks did with author David M. Moore (see the link at the bottom of this page) about his MASSIVE two volume regimental history of the 7th Connecticut Volunteers. It’s also the weight of the two volumes combined.  These are BEAUTIFUL books, nicely bound and sturdy to hold in your hand.  The author looked for sources for 30 years, and it shows.  Not many people would be able to fill nearly 600 pages when covering January 1864 to August 1865.  You may notice this book is self-published.  In Banks’ interview with Moore, the author explained his decision to include full versions of soldier writings, rather than short excerpts or his interpretation. He also wanted many, many maps.  Both of those decisions certainly made it difficult if not impossible to find a regular publisher due to the cost to produce them.  So Moore did it himself.  By my informal count, he has over 200 maps, diagrams, tables, and illustrations…and that’s just in Volume 2!  I really, really like these books for a number of reasons:

• This is an Army of the James regiment and they aren’t often covered in any detail in 1864 in unit histories, if they are covered at all
• This is a complete history of this regiment.  The number of sources is amazing, and the author was blessed to have 400+ letters from his own ancestor as a foundation to build upon
• The author does his own maps, and unlike a lot of unit histories, he tries to figure out EXACTLY where the 7th Connecticut was in any given action.
• Casualties are given as specific names for each day of fighting wherever possible.

If you’re interested, do NOT let the slightly unusual purchasing method (see below, email followed by check) deter you. This is a book you’d never get buying from Amazon, and it is limited to 300 copies only.

Book Summary/Review:

BTC Siege of Petersburg Book Notes:

Publisher: David M. Moore (self-published)

Publication Date: 2016

ISBN-13: 978-0-9981814-1-7 (Volume 2)

Links to Read/Buy:

1. This two-volume set, a signed limited edition, has a list price of $89.98, plus shipping. I have been selling the set at a discounted price to libraries, historical societies and descendants, and would be willing to extend that discount to the followers of your web site ($70.00, plus $7.10 domestic shipping via media mail). Inquiries and order requests may be sent to dmoore50@verizon.net. (SOPO Editor’s Note: This email address is absolutely still active as of March 2021 and Mr. Moore does have sets remaining. He only published 300 sets, so act soon if you are interested.)
2. Lengthy interview with Author David M. Moore at John Banks’ Civil War Blog