Two that have become favorites of mine are Yankee Rebel: The Civil War Journal Of Edmund Dewitt Patterson and Rebel Yell and the Yankee Hurrah: The Civil War Journal of a Maine Volunteer (John W. Haley). Haley’s memoir is possibly the best I have read. The details of camp, march, and battle are well rendered, in addition to his thoughts on events outside the army. It has been out of print for many years but is worth seeking out.
A subset of these letters is described in an article of the Summer 2022 edition of *The Civil War Monitor* “A Solemn Duty: Comrades' letters to the faraway families of soldiers killed in battle or by disease offered details and heartfelt condolences,” by Mark H. Dunkelman.
And from *The Civil War Monitor* blog, this book that I’m looking forward to reading,
The Whartons' War: The Civil War Correspondence of General Gabriel C. Wharton & Anne Radford Wharton, 1863-1865 (Civil War America) Paperback – July 19, 2022
by William C. Davis (Editor), Sue Heth Bell (Editor), Peter S. Carmichael (Foreword)
“The volume begins with a very useful preface and introduction that provides important context. In addition, the editors added extensive introductions to each of the twenty-seven chapters that help the reader navigate through the messy details of the Wharton’s wartime experiences. There is also a thorough and interesting account of their postwar lives.”
I don't do much for the magazine in that capacity. I contribute to their "best Civil War books of the year" feature and I plan on submitting an article about Shaw at some point.
Terry Johnston has done a wonderful job of maintaining the level of quality of the magazine over the years.
Great post! I am a huge fan of Hager's "I Remain Yours" book. This summer I've made it a point to read as many soldier letter collections as I can. Some the best so far are:
"Lee and Jackson's Bloody Twelfth: The Letters of Irby Goodwin Scott . . . " edited by Johnnie Perry Pearson, Univ. of Tenn. Press
"Dear Friends at Home: The Civil War Letters and Diaries of Sgt. Charles T. Bowen . . ." edited by Edward K. Cassedy, Butternut and Blue Press
"Far, Far from Home: The Wartime Letters of Dick and Tally Simpson . . . ." edited by Guy R. Everson and Edward W. Simpson, Jr., Oxford Univ. Press
I think you used Irby Scott's letters for you "Black Confederates" book, and the Simpson letters mention their enslaved camp workers a lot, too. Fascinating reading!
A couple of great other one are:
"Letters to Amanda: The Civil War Letters of Marion Hill Fitzpatrick"
"No Freedom Shrieker: The Civil War Letters of Union Soldier Charles Freeman Biddlecom, 147th New York"
"Your Brother in Arms: A Union Soldier's Odyssey"
Reading their letters is really the best way to understand their world.
Hi Tim. Great to hear from you. I did indeed make good use of Irby Scott's letters in my Black Confederates book. Thanks for these suggestions. I am familiar with most of them. They are well worth reading.
Robert Hunt Rhodes, ed., All For The Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes (New York: Vintage Civil War Library, 1992).
I read this book after hearing excerpts featured in Ken Burns' Civil War documentary series and thought it provided great insight into a Union soldier moving up the ranks while serving in the Army of the Potomac.
Karen Stokes, ed., An Everlasting Circle: Letters of the Haskell Family of Abbeville, South Carolina, 1861-1865 (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2019)
I read these letters a year or so ago and they're interesting in general, but the central storyline is watching one of the sons enter the war ambitious and optimistic, and then see his transformation into an emotionless machine. He has several letters to his mother where he is processing grief and trauma that are just bone-chilling to read.
Should add... the main guy's brother was the commander of an artillery battery and he's got a letter describing its line of march struggling through muddy paths toward a battle front that is one of the best descriptions of such a thing I've ever read.
Also, the afterward is super-weird--straight out of the Abbeville Institute tradition.
Two that have become favorites of mine are Yankee Rebel: The Civil War Journal Of Edmund Dewitt Patterson and Rebel Yell and the Yankee Hurrah: The Civil War Journal of a Maine Volunteer (John W. Haley). Haley’s memoir is possibly the best I have read. The details of camp, march, and battle are well rendered, in addition to his thoughts on events outside the army. It has been out of print for many years but is worth seeking out.
A subset of these letters is described in an article of the Summer 2022 edition of *The Civil War Monitor* “A Solemn Duty: Comrades' letters to the faraway families of soldiers killed in battle or by disease offered details and heartfelt condolences,” by Mark H. Dunkelman.
And from *The Civil War Monitor* blog, this book that I’m looking forward to reading,
The Whartons' War: The Civil War Correspondence of General Gabriel C. Wharton & Anne Radford Wharton, 1863-1865 (Civil War America) Paperback – July 19, 2022
by William C. Davis (Editor), Sue Heth Bell (Editor), Peter S. Carmichael (Foreword)
“The volume begins with a very useful preface and introduction that provides important context. In addition, the editors added extensive introductions to each of the twenty-seven chapters that help the reader navigate through the messy details of the Wharton’s wartime experiences. There is also a thorough and interesting account of their postwar lives.”
https://www.civilwarmonitor.com/book-shelf/davis-bell-eds-the-whartons-war-2022
You may remember that I recently commented on the Wharton book: https://kevinmlevin.substack.com/p/the-importance-of-empathy-in-historical
Oops! Sorry, I do remember. Been traveling around Virginia for two weeks and lost track. 🤦♀️
And you are a Digital History Advisor for *The Civil War Monitor.* One of the reasons I maintain my subscription.
I don't do much for the magazine in that capacity. I contribute to their "best Civil War books of the year" feature and I plan on submitting an article about Shaw at some point.
Terry Johnston has done a wonderful job of maintaining the level of quality of the magazine over the years.
Great post! I am a huge fan of Hager's "I Remain Yours" book. This summer I've made it a point to read as many soldier letter collections as I can. Some the best so far are:
"Lee and Jackson's Bloody Twelfth: The Letters of Irby Goodwin Scott . . . " edited by Johnnie Perry Pearson, Univ. of Tenn. Press
"Dear Friends at Home: The Civil War Letters and Diaries of Sgt. Charles T. Bowen . . ." edited by Edward K. Cassedy, Butternut and Blue Press
"Far, Far from Home: The Wartime Letters of Dick and Tally Simpson . . . ." edited by Guy R. Everson and Edward W. Simpson, Jr., Oxford Univ. Press
I think you used Irby Scott's letters for you "Black Confederates" book, and the Simpson letters mention their enslaved camp workers a lot, too. Fascinating reading!
A couple of great other one are:
"Letters to Amanda: The Civil War Letters of Marion Hill Fitzpatrick"
"No Freedom Shrieker: The Civil War Letters of Union Soldier Charles Freeman Biddlecom, 147th New York"
"Your Brother in Arms: A Union Soldier's Odyssey"
Reading their letters is really the best way to understand their world.
Hi Tim. Great to hear from you. I did indeed make good use of Irby Scott's letters in my Black Confederates book. Thanks for these suggestions. I am familiar with most of them. They are well worth reading.
Robert Hunt Rhodes, ed., All For The Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes (New York: Vintage Civil War Library, 1992).
I read this book after hearing excerpts featured in Ken Burns' Civil War documentary series and thought it provided great insight into a Union soldier moving up the ranks while serving in the Army of the Potomac.
It’s a classic.
Karen Stokes, ed., An Everlasting Circle: Letters of the Haskell Family of Abbeville, South Carolina, 1861-1865 (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2019)
I read these letters a year or so ago and they're interesting in general, but the central storyline is watching one of the sons enter the war ambitious and optimistic, and then see his transformation into an emotionless machine. He has several letters to his mother where he is processing grief and trauma that are just bone-chilling to read.
Should add... the main guy's brother was the commander of an artillery battery and he's got a letter describing its line of march struggling through muddy paths toward a battle front that is one of the best descriptions of such a thing I've ever read.
Also, the afterward is super-weird--straight out of the Abbeville Institute tradition.
I will definitely check that one out. Thanks, Chris.