Thomas W. Colley served in one of the most active and famous units in the Civil War, the 1st Virginia Cavalry, which fought in battles in the Eastern Theater, from First Manassas/Bull Run to the defense of Petersburg. Colley was born November 11, 1837, outside Abingdon, Virginia, and grew up knowing the daily demands of life on a farm. In May 1861, along with the other members of the Washington Mounted Rifles, he left his home in Washington County and reported to camp in Richmond. During the war, Colley received wounds on three different occasions: first at Waterloo Bridge in 1862, again at Kelly’s Ford in 1863, and finally at Haw’s Shop in 1864. The engagement at Haw’s Shop resulted in the amputation of his left foot, thereby ending his wartime service. The first modern scholarly edition of Colley’s writings, In Memory of Self and Comrades dramatizes Colley’s fate as a wounded soldier mustered out before the war’s conclusion. Colley’s postwar reflections on the war reveal his struggle to earn a living and maintain his integrity while remaining somewhat unreconciled to his condition. He found much of his solace through writing and sought to advance his education after the war. As one of an estimated 20,000 soldiers who underwent amputation during the Civil War, his memoirs reveal the challenges of living with what many might recognize today as post-traumatic stress disorder. Annotations from editor Michael K. Shaffer provide further context to Colley’s colorful and insightful writings on both his own condition and the condition of other veterans also dealing with amputations

Historical accounts of the most famous Confederate cavalry regiment. From the very beginning of the War until April 11,1865 when it disbanded after marching to Lynchburg Va.

The Comanches is a extensively researched and edited study written by Frank M. Myers. This edition depicts the history of White's Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, from the point of view of the Confederates.

In 1861 Captain James J. Morrison resigned his commission in the United States Cavalry, returned to his home in Cedartown, Georgia, and was soon authorized by the Confederate War Department to raise a regiment of cavalry. This book is the first complete history of the First Georgia Cavalry, who saw action in Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and North Carolina. A regimental roster includes more than 1,600 names with details of service provided, along with pre-war service, death and burial information in some cases.

A short but colorful memoir by a sergeant in the 2nd Texas regiment, which served with distinction in the Western Theatre of the Civil War. Sergeant Smith volunteered in the first months of the outbreak of the Civil War, but his first real taste of the conflict came as part of the Army of the Mississippi under General Albert Sidney Johnson at Shiloh. The author recounts the confused nature of the fighting around the Hornet’s Nest and the sorrow of the repulse but above all the deep sense of loss at the death of their Confederate leader. After duties around the outskirts of Vicksburg, Smith and his comrades were among the Confederate soldiers that were penned up there by the Union forces under General Grant. Despite a fierce resistance the Confederate soldiers of Vicksburg were forced to surrender and the troops were paroled. Eventually exchanged, Smith spent the rest of the war in the garrison of Galveston under General Magruder before settling in San Marcos Texas.