No comments about It Happened in the Civil War (It Happened In Series).

1 comments about The Civil War in North Carolina: Soldiers' and Civilians' Letters and Diaries, 1861-1865. Volume 2: The Mountains (Civil War in North Carolina).

1. The Civil War in North Carolina: Soldiers' and Civilians' Letters and Diaries, 1861-1865 (Volume 2): The Mountains, is the soldier's story. It is an A-to-Z compilation of what the "rank and file soldier" experienced during the American Civil War. The Western North Carolina soldiers express their hearts to their loved ones and friends, thus allowing the reader the most intimate and personal view of the war.
   From triumph to tragedy, the "soldiers' letters" express what few authors or writers can achieve--realism.
   According to cartographic and demographic studies, Southern Appalachia comprised a unique indigenous people, and by isolating these rare letters it allows the reader the most detailed insight to their experiences.
   The soldier experienced various traumatic stressors in the conflict: such as witnessing death or dismemberment, handling dead bodies, traumatic loss of comrades, realizing imminent death, killing others and being helpless to prevent others' deaths.
   Plain, raw and to the point: The reader will witness the most detailed insight to the so-called American Civil War. Intimate and personal: diseases, privation, wounds, loneliness, exhaustion, heartache, and death are all explored.
   
   To understand and fathom the sociopolitical and geopolitical "tone" of western North Carolina and the American Civil War, purchase "The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina in the Civil War" by John C. Inscoe and Gordon B. McKinney.
   
   Matthew D. Parker

1 comments about 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry: Sergeant William H. Relyea.

1. John Priest calls the 16th Connecticut an "Average" Federal infantry regiment. I would rather call it an "unfortunate" Federal infantry regiment. Raised in Hartford County in August 1862, the 16th Connecticut was assigned to the Ninth Army Corps and found itself on the extreme left flank of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Antietam in a cornfield facing A.P. Hill's Confederate division just up from Harpers Ferry, perhaps carrying US flags from the surrendered garrison. The 16th had been mustered in less than a month previously and the soldiers had never been taught even to load their muskets. Hill's men just walked up and opened fire and by the time the 16th's survivors ran to the rear, the unit had suffered about 200 casualties. Twenty years ago I was a museum director in West Hartford and we had a file of letters from a soldier in the 16th and he certainly never got over the trauma of this disaster. The 16th went on to fight well at Fredericksburg, and later in the Suffolk Campaign. However, its bad luck followed as nine companies were forced to surrender at Plymouth, North Carolina in April 1864 when that garrison was captured by the Confederates. The enlisted men ended up in Andersonville where half of them died (including my letter writer). William Relyea was on detached service at the time of Plymouth, so he missed the surrender. His regimental history continues into January 1865 when it simply stops. But, as a result, this is a fuller history than Blakeslee's small history published just after the end of the war.

   The editing is generally OK, although nothing fancy. There are no maps, but then again, Priest has had trouble with maps in the past. Because the work was done in Maryland, there is no feel for Connecticut history and locations. The historic town of Simsbury is given as Simburg on page 2, for example. The biggest shortcoming is that there is no account of William Relyea the author and how this manuscript came to exist in the Connecticut Historical Society. Priest and the boys and girls have not consulted pension files, but restrict themselves to printed Connecticut sources to ID the soldiers. I wish I lived within driving distance of the National Archives; they do. Sounds like a great class trip to me.

   Unpublished regimental histories are like hen's teeth. I have been fortunate to edit and publish a history of the 1st Vermont Cavalry and have a copy of a fragmented manuscript history of the 4th New Hampshire Infantry. These manuscripts should be published. Priest and his class have done a good job on the History of the 16th Connecticut. Even though it might have been done a bit better, I highly recommend this book and this is a very useful addition to Antietam, Fredericksburg, and the coastal campaigns. Good job guys.

1 comments about Lincoln's Own Stories.

1. The Coachwhip Publications edition (ISBN 193058542X - just copy and paste that number into the Amazon search bar - the edition might not show up otherwise, in search results) is an inexpensive reprint of this charming collecting of folkstories told about and by President Abraham Lincoln. This could make a good first introduction for younger children to American history, giving a little insight into the personality and public persona of one of our most famous presidents. There is some minor bowdlerization in this edition.

No comments about Farragut: America's First Admiral (Military Profiles).

No comments about Recollections and Letters of Robert E. Lee (Dover Value Editions).

1 comments about Into the Western Winds: Pioneer Boys Traveling the Overland Trails.

1. Heartfelt renderings of life along the Oregon/California Trails through the eyes of boys and adolescent young men. Mary Barmeyer O'Brien selects nine different diaries and memoirs of pioneering young men and paraphrases these diary excerpts with her own style of writing. Wonderfully done!
   We read of seven year old Jesse Applegate and their Oregon bound wagon train of 1843 with their many hardships and misfortunes, including the drowning of his brother in the Columbia River.
   Then there is seventeen year old Moses Schallenberger's wagon party of 1844, where due to circumstances of deep snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and being left behind to guard the wagons, he oftentimes was referred to as "Robinson Crusoe of the Sierra Nevada" because of his solitary existence in a make-shift log cabin for months.
   The courageous fourteen year old Octavius Pringle in 1844 riding solo to get provisions back to his stranded family on the Applegate Cutoff.
   Eleven year old Elisha Brooks in 1852 traveling hundreds of miles with only his mother and five siblings to California.
   These young boys, along with their families, exemplify the strong, rugged, Herculean efforts these pioneers had to endure in order to reach the land of their dreams.
   As seen through the eyes of youth, this is a different, but at the same time admirable way, to look at westward emigration.

1 comments about Copland: 1900-1942.

1. Copland not only gave us insight into his life, but the lives of the modern classical composers. Through this book you can learn the "family tree" of modern American and European composers.

3 comments about A Civilian in Green Clothes.

1. Being born in 1977, my view of the Viet Nam war is very much limited to the stories of my dad, uncle, and movies I have seen on the subject. I enjoy reading about military history and found Capt. Doherty's book to be an outstanding portrayal of not only the war, but the incrededible sacrifices that were made in the name of freedom and democracy.
   
   The book starts with a very succint history lesson explaining the events of the era leading to the war's very first battles. It progresses into how Jerry got thrust into the position as a young Lieutenant heading to eastern Asia to partake in what will be cosidered one of America's costliest and most confusing war.
   
   Jerry's story telling ability walks the line of in-your-face and pure modesty. He captures the feeling that he truly loved the men he served with and the friends he lost.
   
   He ends the book with a stark realization that the media would be afraid to publish, only because of the pure truth he places on the pages paralleling the conflict he was part of and the events of today's war in Iraq.
   
   This book is a must read for anyone who considers themselves a patriot or an American.
   
   Captain US Army 99-06



2. The author did a fabulous job not only of conveying his personal experience in Viet Nam, but of putting Viet Nam in the larger context of what was happening in the U.S. at the time. It is a book that will give you a better understanding of the day-to-day reality that our troops faced in Viet Nam and, indirectly, what they face today in Iraq. While the author simply tells one man's story of fighting a war, it's a story that will add context to every news report that you see about Iraq.
   
   After I finished the book, I bought copies for my children -- all born after the end of the Viet Nam war. They'll learn more about the history of Viet Nam war from this book than they learned in high school or college history classes.



3. Economy of language allows the reader to create mind pictures of an experience so many, thankfully, can not ever know. I'm a woman of that era who has never heard a man speak of his Viet Nam war experiences. Either they did not go and have nothing to say, or they went and don't feel they can burden others with the circumstances. I greatly appreciate knowing Doherty's daily routines and seeing the larger picture develop under his careful and caring observations. We have not lived past this experience and are hungry still for information to help us cope and understand. I still miss the ones I've lost there and feel closer to those still with me. Thank you for this gift.

No comments about A Strong-minded Woman: The Life of Mary Livermore.