My Ten Books for 2021

By Sarah Kay Bierle · Originally published November 2021 · pp. 14–15

Just ten books written by or about Civil War soldiers below the rank of lieutenant? What a great challenge! Here, listed in no particular ranking of favorites, are a few of my top picks for unique perspectives on the lives and experiences of the common soldier through autobiography or biography. 1. Personal Recollections of the War of 1861, Charles August Fuller, News Job Printing House, 1906. Beginning his autobiographical recollections in March 1861, Fuller chronicled his military experiences from enlistment and campaigning with the 61st New York Infantry Regiment. He wrote with particular detail about drill and discipline, campaigning on the Virginia Peninsula, and the Battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. By the summer of 1863, he had been promoted to lieutenant, but his soldiering days ended after suffering serious wounds at Gettysburg. The detailed description of his wounding and life-altering medical care is particularly useful for studying a low-ranking officer’s days in field hospitals. Fuller’s time in the ranks changed his life and influenced his thought patterns for the rest of his life. In his short writings, he “told my story as a soldier.”

2. In Memory of Self and Comrades: Thomas Wallace Colley’s Recollections of Civil War Service in the 1st Virginia Cavalry, Thomas Wallace Colley edited by Michael K. Shaffer, The University of Tennessee Press, 2018. Colley did not have an easy life, and he finished his autobiographical memoir in 1915 at age 78. However, his adventures in Confederate uniform and his life during the Reconstruction Era and decades beyond read like a novel sprinkled with real-life wisdom from a man who went through danger and dark moments. Whether dashing ahead in a cavalry charge, surviving dangerous injuries, or battling alcoholism after the war, Colley showed remarkable courage and told his story with notable honesty. Throughout his writing, Colley traced his personal journey of religious faith and how his beliefs changed and ultimately transformed his life. Beyond telling his own story, Colley’s memoir is incredibly important for studying Confederate cavalry in Virginia, specific details of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, perspectives on officers, and notes on Confederate medical care. His war and life story is an incredibly authentic and open look at the confusion and sorrow contrasted with the exciting or humorous moments that crowded the days of this Confederate cavalryman. 3. Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander, Kent Masterson Brown, The University of Kentucky Press, 1993. A military biography of Alonzo Cushing follows the key moments of his 22-year life from his mother’s home to the barracks at West Point, Civil War camps and battles, until the final moments during the afternoon of July 3, 1863, when he ordered his battery forward toward Gettysburg’s outer angle’s wall. The book opens with a

description of the young officer’s funeral, leaving no doubt that the biography will end with a shortened life and horrifying battle tragedy. Then, the chapters delve into the life events and character forming moments that shaped Cushing’s life. Technically, Cushing was promoted to brevet major after the Battle of Chancellorsville, but the majority of his military training and service was below or at rank of lieutenant. Brown’s writing about Cushing strongly reflects the memorial words written by Frederick Fuger who fought with Cushing and held him in his final moments: “a most able soldier, a man of excellent judgment, and a decision of character…”

4. Four Years In The Stonewall Brigade, John O. Casler, Appeal Publishing Company, 1906. Understandably from his experiences (and the title of his book), Casler took great pride in his service in the 33rd Virginia Infantry, part of the famed Stonewall Brigade. His autobiography focuses heavily on the Civil War years, but also includes a few details about his childhood and youth and some final thoughts on the South with a Lost Cause view in the ending pages. One of the best things about Casler’s writings is the color and details he recorded. Though he included details known with hindsight, he wrote about little incidents that happened in camp, campaign, or battle. For example, Casler gives overview details about the Battle of Chancellorsville as if to set the stage, and then takes the reader on a much more personal journey. He describes his encounter with a wounded Union officer, including taking the Yankee’s weapons. A few paragraphs later, Casler vividly recalled enduring artillery fire while crouching in a shallow depression with a prayerful comrade and another soldier who mocked the others and the flying projectiles. Details like these set against the attempted overview history give readers interesting material for study on common soldier, memory, Lost Cause, and unit history.

5. Personal Reminiscences of James A. Scrymser, In Times of Peace and War, James Alexander Scrymser, Eschenbach Printing Company, 1915. This collection of short articles contains some humorous and unique stories from the Civil War

years and the later life of a Union veteran. While it is possible that Scrymser exaggerated or accidentally misremembered some details in his writings, there are a few verifiable points that seem accurate, suggesting there may be more truth to some of the “impossible” tales in his reminiscences. Some favorites include his enlistment story, fixing a cook stove in the Lincoln White House, records of soldiers’ rumors, and even the supposed revelation of a “great conspiracy.” Whether completely accurate or not, Scrymer’s remembrance of the war years of his life are filled with dashes of laughter, often a welcome relief in Civil War studies.

6. War Reminiscences by the Surgeon of Mosby’s Command, Aristides Monteiro, published in Richmond, VA, 1890. Everyone writes their story with a purpose, and Monteiro clearly emphasized a justification of the war from a Confederate view point throughout his memoir. Published in 1890 and entrenched in the Lost Cause viewpoint, his reminiscences also offer interesting notes about the officers he served with in “Mosby’s Confederacy.” Unlike some other memoirs, Monteiro does not start with an overview of his youth, but rather jumps into his story in 1864 when Mosby asked him to join his command as a surgeon; pieces and hints of the doctor’s earlier life are woven into the early chapters; his postwar views are clear throughout the text and in the concluding chapters. Surprisingly, there are not as many medical details as a reader might expect from a surgeon’s story, but the action from riding with Mosby takes a more prominent role in the life tale. Monteiro’s writings about his experiences during his most famous years of the Civil War are almost a time capsule for a closer look at motivation, memory, and war justification woven together with some adventurous escapades.

7. Riding With Stuart: Reminiscences of an Aidede-Camp, Theodore Stanford Garnett edited by Robert J. Trout, White Mane Publisher, 1996. The introduction to this published portion of Garnett’s writings creates a tantalizing puzzle. He clearly states that the pages are a continuation of his war reminiscences…but

where the earlier pages of his story reside is mystery unsolved at the time of the publication. Garnett’s autobiographical and military details provide valuable information into the lives and worn-down days of the Confederate cavalry, particularly during the winter of 1863–1864 and the Overland Campaign. Although he wrote about General Stuart’s pranks, several dances, and parties, the grittier side of cavalry service contrasts with the heroics and glory image that he wanted to believe. Devoted to Stuart and later to that general’s memory, Garnett frames this portion of his life reminiscences with seemingly fond stories about that cavalry commander, helping readers to catch a glimpse of how particular moments could later transform into hero worship. 8. The Long Road To Gettysburg, Jim Murphy, Clarion Books, 1992. Yes, this is a book found in the children’s sections of the library. However, it is worth a mention for the admirable job that it does in highlighting the lives of Lieutenant John Dooley (1st Virginia Infantry) and Corporal Thomas Galway (8th Ohio Infantry) and narrowing in on their experiences during the Gettysburg Campaign. Drawing from the Virginian and Ohioan’s primary source diaries, Murphy paints an accurate and younger reader-appropriate version of these men’s lives which were altered by their wounds and experiences at Gettysburg. For some students, this might be the first introduction to a common soldier’s biography and it touches more detailed topics like slavery and states’ rights, prejudice, and “personal war.” Not all books have to be 200 pages of biography; sometimes the 110 pages of large print and photos can be just as effective for understanding that sometimes “his entire world and all of his dreams had been consumed by the Civil War.” 9. Hospital Days, Jane Woolsey, Van Nostrand, 1868. She was neither an officer nor a soldier, but Jane Woolsey’s reminiscences deserve to slip into this list for their readability and glimpse into soldiers’ lives and deaths in her hospital wards. Starting with her journey to volunteer as a medical nurse, Woolsey wrote her story and how she wanted her service to be remembered shortly after the war’s end. Special diets menus, interactions with sick or wounded soldiers, observations of the chaplain, and a collection of notes sent to her by soldiers’ families, and details about the little observations of the changes of seasons that kept up her spirits fill the pages. Woolsey generally wrote with the grand “we,” not frequently directly telling her own personal experience. However, her observations and the situations she worked through during her hospital days are clearly written, even if she does not use the personal first person the majority of the time. Woolsey’s high social status, clear observations, and straightforward style of writing ensured that her story of her life in the hospitals was told the way she wanted it to be remembered. 10. Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops, Late 1st S. C. Volunteers, Susie King Taylor, Self Published in Boston, 1902. “I now present these reminiscences to you, hoping they may prove of some interest, and show how much service and good we can do to each other, and what sacrifices we can make for our liberty and rights, and that there were “loyal women,” as well as men, in those days, who did not fear shell or shot, who cared for the sick and dying; women who camped and fared as the boys did, and who are still caring for the comrades in their declining years.” With these words, Susie King Taylor began the book to share her life and Civil War service. She did not enlist in the military, but arguably she was there and as much a part of an African American regiment as the men in uniform. Her narrative begins with memories of her ancestors and her childhood in slavery, learning to read, and the first time she met Union soldiers and found freedom. Living alongside a company of soldiers and working as a laundress, Taylor had plenty of first-hand military experience. She learned how to clean and fire a rifle, took care of the wounded after battle, and even occupied Charleston with “her regiment.” Toward the end of her reminiscences, Taylor wrote directly about inequalities and racism that she personally witnessed and endured at the end of the 19th Century, ending with a plea for justice. Sarah Kay Bierle volunteers as the managing editor at Emerging Civil War and works for a nonprofit preserving battlefields and teaching about the land’s history. She has had four books published and is currently working on several other Civil War research and writing projects.