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A candidate for the title of “unsung hero” among the Union generals of the Civil War, Alpheus Williams, “Old Pap” to his men, wrote as frequently as he could to his family in Detroit of his successes, achievements and battles during that terrible period of strife. In this engaging collection of his correspondence he recounts the part he played in the battles both East and West at Second Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Atlanta and the Savannah campaign. A kind hearted man, he was deeply affected by the hardships suffered by the common soldiers under his command who he treated with great care and often sorrow at the awful casualties they suffered. Warmly recommended. “Superb war letters. . . . Old ‘Pap’ Williams possessed an unconscious literary flair that gives simple style and force to his letters. . . . Milo Quaife has added annotation that will enlighten the casual reader and satisfy the scholar.”—New York Times Book Review “Civil War scholars are always grateful for a volume of letters written by a high-ranking officer who held important commands in pivotal engagements. . . . A superior collection. . . . Especially useful to students of the war are his keen, detailed accounts of Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.”—American Historical Review
"I am scared most to death every battle we have, but I don't think you need be afraid of my sneaking away unhurt". Thus wrote Adjutant Charles Harvey Brewster of the 10th Massachusetts to his sister Martha in 1864, in one of over 200 letters he would pen during his four years of service. Born and raised in Northampton, Massachusetts, Brewster was a twenty-seven-year-old store clerk when he enlisted in Company C of the 10th Massachusetts Volunteers in April 1861. During the next three and a half years he fought in many of the major battles of the Virginia campaigns--Fair Oaks, the Seven Days, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, the "Bloody Angle" at Spotsylvania--rising through the ranks to become second lieutenant and later adjutant of his regiment. His letters, most of which were written to his mother and two sisters, record not only the horrors he witnessed on the battlefield, but also his inner struggle with his own values, convictions, and sense of manhood. In a thoughtful and illuminating introductory essay, David W. Blight explores the evolution of Brewster's understanding of the terrible conflict in which he was engaged. Blight shows how Brewster's attitudes toward race and slavery gradually changed, in part as a result of his contact with escaped slaves and his experience recruiting black troops. He also examines the shift in Brewster's conception of courage, as the realities of war collided with the romantic ideals he had previously embraced. This recently discovered and exceptionally literate collection of 137 letters chronicles the experiences of an ordinary Union soldier caught up in extraordinary events. At times naive and sentimental, at times mature andrealistic, Brewster's correspondence not only provides remarkable insight into the meaning of the Civil War for the average Yankee, but also testifies to the persistent power of war to attract and repel the human imagination.
President Lincoln's call for volunteers to fight for the restoration of the Union was answered by common men throughout the United States. William A. Robinson was one of them - a simple farmer and a family man from Delaware County, New York, who enlisted for a three year term in Co. I of the 89th NY Volunteer Infantry in the fall of 1861. Over the course of those three years Robinson and his fellows in the 89th would see service throughout the South, participating in engagements at Antietam, South Mountain, Fredericksburg, Suffolk, VA, the Federal siege of Fort Sumpter (1863), Cold Harbor, Petersburgh and Fair Oaks. Robinson wrote home to his wife Mary as often as the rigors of soldiering would allow, and over 100 of these letters have survived to the present day. Robert J. Taylor has transcribed Robinson's Civil War letters in their entirety, supplemented by a history of the 89th NY with accompanying rosters and an index of full names. The letters describe the everyday experiences of the soldier in the field, alternating between the monotony of camp life and the thrill of combat. More important perhaps are his references to the other men in the regiment, noting illness, injuries in battle, hospitalization, deaths, court martial, desertion, the arrival of new recruits and the dismissal of veterans. Four appendices round out the text: "Military Service of the Men of Company I," including date of enlistment, rank, age, date and circumstances of death or discharge, and other biographical information wherever known; "Regimental Staff Officers," noting the same; complete rosters for Companies A-H, and K; and a "Compiled List of Men Crossing the Rappahanock River, Dec. 11, 1862." With a bibliography and three portraits.