Synopses & Reviews
What was it like to be a poorly trained, ill-equipped, militiaman trying to defend your own home?
What was it like to be stuffed into a makeshift submarinean iron tube no more than 3 feet in diameter and propelled by a hand crankand sent more than 30 feet below Charleston Harbor to attack the enemy?
What was it like to be a Creek infantryman, riding into a Union post in frontier Oklahoma, carrying the rags of what had been your proud battle flag, knowing you were among the last of the Confederates to surrender?
What was it really like to be a soldier during the Civil War?
Brave Men in Desperate Times tells the stories of twenty-one ordinary Civil War soldiersmen who, by and large, have never had their stories published until now. These vivid, eyewitness accounts culled from battle reports, muster rolls, museum collections, family stories, and a handful of letters and diaries that have survived are a testament to the sacrifice, honor, and service of these courageous men.
Review
About 9:00 that evening, the reinforcements arrived, and the boats finally filled up and headed south, toward Pittsburg Landing, where the broken remains of a once-proud Union army still held a foothold of ground. It had been raining since late afternoon, and Newton stepped off the boat into ankle-deep mud. In the pitch-black wilderness, he stood in the rain, waiting for the desperate fight that was only hours away; all around him, the sounds of wounded men rang in his ears. Later, Newton remarked that his only thought at the time was of how well his rubber poncho kept out the pounding rain.
Synopsis
What was it like to be a soldier in combat during the Civil War? What was it like to be a poorly trained, ill-equipped, and un-uniformed militiaman in a state "army" trying to, literally, defend your own home? What was it like to be stuffed into a dank, dark, sweltering, three-foot-diameter iron tube, turning a crank to escape an enemy howling after you, all while thirty feet below the surface of Charleston Harbor? What was it like to be a Creek infantryman, slowly riding in to a Union post in the wilds of frontier Oklahoma, carrying the threadbare rags of what had once been your proud battle flag, knowing you were among the very last of the Confederates to surrender? What was it like to be a Prussian-born corporal, barely able to speak English, caught in the midst of a vicious street battle in Fredericksburg? This new book tells the untold stories of the men on the front lines of battle during the Civil War.
About the Author
John McKay spent fifteen years as a firefighter and paramedic before turning his interests into teaching and writing history. His main inspirations were his great-grandfathers on both sides of his family, Confederate veterans almost killed or badly wounded during the war. McKay has been a freelance writer and photographer for commercial magazines, newspapers, and academic and literary publications.
Table of Contents
IntroductionCh 1: Queen of Battle: The Infantry
Pvt. James K. Newton, Co. F, Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry
Pvt. James R. Barrow, Co. B, Cobbs Legion Infantry
Ch 2: Thunder on the Battlefield: The Artillery
Capt. Francis DeGress, First Illinois Light Battery H
Capt. Thomas J. Key, Arkansas Battery, Hotchkisss Battalion
Ch 3: Chivalry and Sabers: The Cavalry
Sgt. James Larson, Co. H., Fourth U.S. Cavalry
Pvt. Benjamin Wortham, Co. H, Twelfth Georgia Cavalry Regiment
Ch 4: Wood and Iron: The Navies
Seaman William Burke, USS Cairo
Seaman James A. Wicks, CSS H.L. Hunley
Ch 5: Sutures and Saws: Battlefield Medical Care
Dr. Thomas Smith Waring, Surgeon, Seventeenth South Carolina Volunteers
Ch 6: Hell on Earth: Prisoners Of WarPvt. William J. Crouse, Co. G, Seventh Pennsylvania Reserves
Ch 7: Weekend Warriors: The MilitiaCapt. William Jasper Worley, Co. D, Blue Ridge Rangers, First Regiment, Georgia State Line
Ch 8: Pirates and Privateers: Blockade Runners
Tom Taylor (civilian)
Ch 9: The Everlasting Fire: American Indians
Col. Daniel N. McIntosh, First Creek Mounted Volunteers, First Creek Cavalry Regiment
Ch 10: I Goes to Fight Mit Sigel: Immigrant Soldiers
Cpl. Anton Steffens, Co. C, Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Ch 11: We Are Men, Arent We?: Black Soldiers
Pvt. Scott Green, First U.S. Colored Troops (USCT)Bibliography
Index
Capt. William Jasper Worley, Co. D, Blue Ridge Rangers, First Regiment, Georgia State Line
Ch 8: Pirates and Privateers: Blockade Runners
Tom Taylor (civilian)
Ch 9: The Everlasting Fire: American Indians
Col. Daniel N. McIntosh, First Creek Mounted Volunteers, First Creek Cavalry Regiment
Ch 10: I Goes to Fight Mit Sigel: Immigrant Soldiers
Cpl. Anton Steffens, Co. C, Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment
Ch 11: We Are Men, Arent We?: Black Soldiers
Pvt. Scott Green, First U.S. Colored Troops (USCT)
Bibliography
Index