First Dive In

The first book I retrieved to begin my look into the life and battle accomplishments of Ambrose P. Hill was (cleverly enough) titled "General A.P. Hill". The book, published in 1987, is a detailed account of the General's life from his upbringing in Culpeper, Virginia to his death on the battlefield during the Petersburg Siege in 1865. This will be an ideal biography to get a broad sense of Hill.

A quote from the acknowledgements

" A.P. Hill was a pivotal figure in every major Civil War battle in the eastern theater from 1862 to 1865. Nevertheless, he has been such an obscure figure for the past 125 years that the best photograph of him has never been published until now. One reason for this neglect is that until a collection of Hill's writings was discovered in the preparation of this book, historians believed that none of the general's papers had survived."

"With the help of such previously unused sources, Hill's own story can be told for the first time. Therefore, the overriding object of this study has been to portray people and events as Hill himself saw them. Thus does "Stonewall" Jackson, for example, appear here in a more negative light than usual."

Robertson, James I. General A.P. Hill: The Story of a Confederate General. New
York: Random House, 1987.

The second book that I used when I started my research was Shelby Foote's comprehensive

study "The Civil War". This book will be a good resource for it's attention to military detail and its

lengthy discussion of the different battles that General Hill was involved in. However, due to its

immense volume, this will be a difficult source to grasp in full. It will be useful for minute details

but will not be my go to for information about Hill's personal life.

Foote, Shelby. The Civil War. Vol. 1. New York: Random House, 1958.

The third, and most important, book that I delved into was "War of the Rebellion". General A.P.

Hill's report is contained in Series I, Volume XXVII. It is his report about his Third Corps actions

during the Battle of Gettysburg. The report is obviously valuable for it's first hand account of the

battle, but is difficult to understand out of context. One must be well versed in knowledge about

the Battle of Gettysburg in order to understand it. It is my hope to be able to gain deeper insight

into the battle and Hill's role.

Hill, Ambrose P. "Report of Lieut. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill, C.S. Army, commanding Third Army Corps."

In War of the Rebellion Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Part of Series I,

Volume XXVII, Operations in- North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and

Department of the East, June 8 - August 3, 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. Washington Government

Printing Office 1889. 606-608.