Böcker av Daniel Masters

Even to his comrades in the 32nd Ohio, William Mosby McLain was a man with an air of mystery. Born in Washington, D.C. to parents active in the anti-slavery movement, McLain was living in Richmond, Virginia when the Civil broke out in April 1861. Determined to do his part in the war, he returned to his father's native home in Ohio and enlisted in Co. B, 32nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry in August 1861. We know some of what McLain experienced during the Civil War because of the numerous beautifully written letters he sent to the editor of the Urbana Citizen & Gazette. Written under the pen name "Seneachie," McLain's missives told the story of the ill-starred 32nd Ohio, writing poignantly of the many defeats the regiment suffered while in Virginia. Captured at Harper's Ferry in 1862, the regiment was paroled and transferred to the western theater. Greeted as the Harper's Ferry cowards, the regiment proved its mettle at Champion's Hill when it captured a battery. Having solidified its reputation as a fighting regiment, McLain and the 32nd Ohio would go on to fight through the Vicksburg and Atlanta campaign as honored members of the Army of the Tennessee.

"Army Life According to Arbaw" is a book length Civil War soldier's narrative that presents a well written and insightful view of army life as viewed by William A. Brand of the 66th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Brand, whose missives were published under the nom-de-plume "D.N. Arbaw" by the Urbana Citizen & Gazette, wrote frequent letters that provide a detailed view of his regiment's experiences with both the Army of the Potomac and the Army of the Cumberland. Eighty-two of his wartime letters are included in this book. Early in the war he was detailed to the quartermaster's department of the regiment to assist his father who was the regimental quartermaster. As such, Brand's military family was the leadership of the regiment, and he described the campaigns and battles in which his regiment participated from this perspective; yet his depictions of combat and life in camp are striking for their power and immediacy.

Alfred Emory Lee, an aspiring attorney recently graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, resolved to do his part to restore the Union. Lee enlisted in Co. I of the 82nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry in November 1861 and so begins this incredible journey through the Civil War. Lee was commissioned as an officer and wrote home frequently, leaving a fascinating record of the lengthy list of battles in which his regiment participated, including McDowell, Cross Keys, Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, (where Lee was severely wounded and captured on the first day of the battle), Wauhatchie, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, CulpÕs Farm, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Savannah, Averysboro, and Bentonville. Alfred E. LeeÕs Civil War draws from LeeÕs copious wartime correspondence and his post war writings to present a detailed and insightful portrait of the war as fought both east and west.

The letters contained in this volume from the pen of Private Harry Comer of Co. A, 1st Ohio Volunteer Infantry provide a fascinating glimpse into the life of a regular soldier in the Army of the Cumberland. The letters begin shortly after his enlistment in the spring of 1861 and follow the 1st Ohio throughout its three years' Civil War service in the Eastern and Western theaters.