The 102nd Illinois had a distinguished record in the American Civil War. Among the many battles fought, they were at Resaca, Chattahoochie, the siege of Atlanta, and tramped along on Sherman's march through Georgia and the Carolinas.In addition to accounts of camp life and battles, there are a number of humorous exchanges across battle lines between Yanks and Johnnies, sometimes meeting in the middle of no-man's land to shake hands and swap goods.Stephen Francis Fleharty also recounts the jealousies and maneuverings of some unqualified officers for higher rank. There is new material in this edition about Fleharty's post-war career.Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever.

The aptly-named Tiger Regiment was the 43rd Massachusetts Infantry. This is one of the better examples of regimental histories from the Civil War, containing many personal stories and anecdotes.This is not the memoir of a famous general but life as lived by the common soldier. Edward Rogers, who did an admirable job writing the history, was a ship's carpenter before and after the war. He writes of the horror of combat, the boredom of camp, the humor of comrades, and the experience of meeting former slaves."As I was strolling around yesterday (in my second visit to Newbern), I found a colored man, a little rising fifty years of age, engaged upon a wharf in siding an oak-knee. I entered into conversation with him, and found that he had been a slave until the battle of Newbern. (He was nearly white.) He was doing his work excellently; and in a quiet and prepossessing manner, in answer to a question of mine, said that he was thoroughly acquainted with his trade, and had worked at it all his days in Newbern, Beaufort, and other North-Carolina ports, paying his owner about three hundred dollars a y ear, retaining only enough for the barest necessaries of life for himself and family. I asked about his children, to which he replied, that, when the secesh went off, they took three of them away It was quite an experience to me to see a man evidently as intelligent, respectable, and skilled as any of our Northern mechanics, handling the familiar tools of my own calling, and yet so recently delivered from so abject a condition. I felt more than ever, that, if the South rules, it will ruin."Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever.

One of the most remarkable collections of letters to come out of the American Civil War is this compilation by the Woolsey family. Educated, aware, and closely affectionate, the family exchanged and kept letters throughout the war. Included in the set are those from family members serving in hospitals, taking collections for soldiers at home, and a soldier serving on the front lines with Grant, Sheridan, and Meade. What was life like for those who watched their country rent by war? The desperate anxiety and despair of the early war and the hopeful expressions later on give a vivid and very human face to an event that, though long past, is still apart of who we are as Americans today. There is also humor and gossip, and an incredible awareness of what was going on in battles far from home. That the collection includes letters from various family members provides a view into Civil War life as no other. For less than you'd spend on gas going to the library, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

For the four long years of the American Civil War, Sam Barron rode with the famed Third Texas Cavalry under General Lawrence Sullivan Ross (governor of Texas twice and president of Texas A&M). Ross' Brigade, as it was known, was involved in some of the most important and successful Confederate operations of the war. Of special note, Barron describes the raid on Holly Springs that decimated Union supplies there, temporarily threatening Ulysses S. Grant's plans to take Vicksburg, the last Rebel stronghold on the Mississippi. The Third Texans also fought at Corinth, Elkhorn, Oak Hill and elsewhere. Only a Texan for about one year before the war broke out, Barron nevertheless declared himself a secessionist as soon as he heard about John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry. Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever. For less than you'd spend on gas going to the library, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Chickamauga, Stone River, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, and Sherman's March to the Sea. Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hendrick Fitch was at all of them and more. Looking back 40 years, he recounts the battles, the humorous tales, the anecdotes of Grant and other famous soldiers whom he met, and simple soldier stories. "As we crossed a creek before arriving at the battlefield, the horses all stopped to drink. Grant pulled out his match-box and lighted a cigar. While he was doing this, his horse let fly with his hind foot at [Baldy] Smith’s horse. Whereupon Smith hit Grant’s horse across the rump with his stick and at the same time made some familiar remark to Grant about riding such a vicious horse. I was looking intently at Grant at the time and was struck with his perfect stolid indifference. He never for an instant changed the position of his hand or head in lighting his cigar, nor said a word, nor did he seem conscious of the episode, though his horse moved up suddenly. I thought it very characteristic of his qualities as a soldier." Front-line letters, diaries, and stories of the Civil War bring an immediacy to a long-ago event and connect us to these everyday men and women who lived it. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

One of the most interesting and compelling descriptions of the battles of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville is found in J.D. Bloodgoods long-forgotten 1893 memoir. Bloodgood was an enlisted private of Company I, of the One Hundred and Forty-first Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry, promoted to a sergeant, wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863, and mustered out of the service at the close of the war with a record as a good and efficient soldier. An educated man, his observations and descriptions go beyond battlefield chaos and give you the feeling of what the line soldier and officer experienced. After the war, he revisited Gettysburg and his return is a story in itself. For less than you'd spend on gas going to the library, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Among the thousands of regimental histories, Civil War diaries, and Civil War letters, this volume stands out. The 13th New Hampshire Volunteer Regiment fought in some of the most important and memorable actions of the American Civil War, including Cold Harbor and the siege of Petersburg.But this is more than just another regimental history. Drawn from diaries, letters, and conversations with former comrades, Lieutenant Stephen Millett Thompson crafted one of the finest memoirs of the war. All of the horror, humor, and absurdity of war is captured here in sardonic true story that will appeal to anyone with an interest in the period.As Thompson writes, "...the Thirteenth, as well as the army as a whole, laughed far more than it wept, and will remember its enjoyments far beyond the fading of its woes." Yet the tears are here as well, as is the horror. There is something emotionally raw in this account that is captured superbly in Thompson's prose and in the writings of his regimental brethren.A comrade wrote to Thompson, "I remember that while we were lying there, the gun wads or cartridge bags from the rebel cannon fell among us burning and stinking, and the men near us tossed them away with their bayonets; we could feel the wind and warmth of the fire of the rebel cannon on our faces and hands, and the place was somewhat lighted up by the flashes of the guns."Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever.

They were young, they were old, they were mothers, sisters, wives, widows, and neighbors. They were ladies of high social position, farmer's wives, and school teachers. Shells and bullets flew through the very tents and hospitals in which they worked. They worked with African-American soldiers, freed slaves, and rebel soldiers. They not only gave up their time and exhausted themselves serving others, many lost their lives to the same diseases that killed the soldiers for whom they were caring. They even fought as soldiers. They were the Union women of the American Civil War and their role in support of the cause was vastly broader and more essential than most people realize. Here are the stories of some of the prominent and the not-so-prominent. Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix, and Emily Parsons are only three of the many women profiled in this work written right after the Civil War. Without their leadership and tireless efforts, the outcome of the war would have been very different. For less than you'd spend on gas going to the library, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

The stern look on the cover of this book should not fool you. David Dixon Porter was one of the wittiest, most erudite men to have served in the American Civil War and once you've read his memoirs, you won't miss the twinkle in those eyes. What most Americans know about the Civil War centers around Union and Confederate land campaigns. But without the U.S. Navy, the absolutely essential blockade of southern ports could not have prevented the rebels from trading on a large scale. Even less known is the crucial role the Navy played in many of the land campaigns, including the siege of Vicksburg and operations on the James River among many others. David Porter was in the center of this action, collaborating closely with Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman. Porter was the U.S. Navy's second admiral, after his adopted brother David Farragut. This book is full of some of the most interesting anecdotes and the most important players in the American Civil War. Porter writes with great humor and describes stories you won't read in any other Civil War memoir. During Abraham Lincoln's two week visit to City Point, shortly before his assassination, Porter was by his side nearly all the time. His observations of the great man and his reminiscences of their conversations are unique in Civil War literature. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.