An authentic record of the regiment from its organization to its muster out. A complete roster of its officers and men with their record. A full list of casualties, in detail, dates and places. Its itinerary from place of muster to muster out. Maps showing its movements; A copy of every official paper in the War Department pertaining to the regiment, and others pertaining indirectly to the command. Illustrations of events, biography, etc. Statistics. With reminiscences from the Author's Private Journal.
The sixth in a series documenting Union army colonels, this biographical dictionary lists regimental commanders from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A brief sketch of each is included--many published here for the first time--giving a synopsis of Civil War service and biographical details, along with photos where available.
During the Civil War, African American war correspondent Thomas Morris Chester was so inspired by the men of the 36th United States Colored Troops that he declared the group to be "a model regiment." Composed primarily of former slaves recruited from Union-occupied areas of eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, the 36th USCT participated in large-scale expeditions to liberate slaves, guarded Confederate prisoners at major POW camps, served in the trenches before Petersburg and Richmond, and stood as one of the first units to enter the abandoned Confederate capital on April 3, 1865. This volume, which includes a complete regimental roster, explores the background of these former slaves and their families, examines their initial recruitment and chronicles their military contributions throughout the war. More than a unit history, the story of the 36th USCT offers a vivid portrait of the challenging transition from slavery to freedom.
The Battle of the Crater is one of the lesser known yet most interesting battles of the Civil War. This book, detailing the onset of brutal trench warfare at Petersburg, Virginia, digs deeply into the military and political background of the battle. Beginning by tracing the rival armies through the bitter conflicts of the Overland Campaign and culminating with the siege of Petersburg and the battle intended to lift that siege, this book offers a candid look at the perception of the campaign by both sides.
Forgotten for more than a century in an old cardboard box, these are the letters of Guy Carlton Taylor, a farmer who served in the Thirty-Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the American Civil War. From March 23, 1864, to July 14, 1865, Taylor wrote 165 letters home to his wife Sarah and their son Charley. From the initial mustering and training of his regiment at Camp Randall in Wisconsin, through the siege of Petersburg in Virginia, General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, and the postwar Grand Review of the Armies parade in Washington, D.C., Taylor conveys in vivid detail his own experiences and emotions and shows himself a keen observer of all that is passing around him. While at war, he contracts measles, pneumonia, and malaria, and he writes about the hospitals, treatments, and sanitary conditions that he and his comrades endured during the war. Amidst the descriptions of soldiering, Taylor’s letters to Sarah are threaded with the concerns of a young married couple separated by war but still coping together with childrearing and financial matters. The letters show, too, Taylor’s transformation from a lonely and somewhat disgruntled infantryman to a thoughtful commentator on the greater ideals of the war. This remarkable trove of letters, which had been left in the attic of Taylor’s former home in Cashton, Wisconsin, was discovered by local historian Kevin Alderson at a household auction. Recognizing them for the treasure they are, Alderson bought the letters and, aided by his wife Patsy, painstakingly transcribed the letters and researched Taylor’s story in Wisconsin and at historical sites of the Civil War. The Aldersons’ preface and notes are augmented by an introduction by Civil War historian Kathryn Shively Meier, and the book includes photographs, maps, and illustrations related to Guy Taylor’s life and letters.
“Kreiser breathes new life into this most important of Union Army units. . . . A remarkably well-written and superbly researched account.” —David E. Long, author of The Jewel of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln’s Re-election and the End of Slavery Fair Oaks, the Seven Days, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Petersburg—the list of significant battles fought by the Second Corps, Army of the Potomac, is a long and distinguished one. This absorbing history of the Second Corps follows the unit’s creation and rise to prominence, the battles that earned it a reputation for hard fighting, and the legacy its veterans sought to maintain in the years after the Civil War. More than an account of battles, Defeating Lee gets to the heart of what motivated these men, why they fought so hard, and how they sustained a spirited defense of cause and country long after the guns had fallen silent. “[An] excellent contribution to Civil War history shelves.” —Midwest Book Review “Lawrence Kreiser tells the Second Corps’ story with verve and attention to personal as well as bureaucratic details.” —Civil War Librarian
