All For The Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes

by Robert H. Rhodes, Elisha Hunt Rhodes

All for the Union is the eloquent and moving diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, who enlisted into the Union Army as a private in 1861 and left it four years later as a 23-year-old lieutenant colonel after fighting hard and honorably in battles from Bull Run to Appomattox. Anyone who heard these diaries excerpted on the PBS-TV series The Civil War will recognize his accounts of those campaigns, which remain outstanding for their clarity and detail. Most of all, Rhodes's words reveal the motivation of a common Yankee foot soldier, an otherwise ordinary young man who endured the rigors of combat and exhausting marches, short rations, fear, and homesickness for a salary of $13 a month and the satisfaction of giving "all for the union."

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, War

255 pages, Hardcover

First published March 13, 1991

Reviews

[Brok3n · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable record

In 1861 at the age of nineteen, Elisha Hunt Rhodes enlisted in the second Rhode Island volunteers (which he abbreviates 2nd RI Vols) as a private. He was barely able even to do that. He was the oldest son of a widow, and his mother was reluctant to see him go. Furthermore, when he tried to enlist, the doctor told him: “Young man, you cannot go. You are not fit to be a soldier.” When the Colonel said to sign him up, anyway, the doctor responded, “Why Colonel, he will be in the hospital in a week, and we shall have to send him home.” Four years later, at the age of 23, Rhodes was himself the colonel in command of the 2nd RI Vols, until the regiment was mustered out of service after the end of the Civil War. In those four years Rhodes and the 2nd RI Vols fought in every major battle of the Army of the Potomac. This includes many of the battles that every US schoolkid learns about, for instance the first battle of the war at Bull Run, the battle of Gettysburg, and the battle at Appomattox that compelled the surrender of Robert E. Lee.

This diary is unlike most of the writings of Civil War soldiers I have read -- the language is simple and straightforward, quite unlike the flowery and ostentatiously literary language that schoolchildren of the time were apparently taught was good writing. Rhodes was writing for himself, but even in the letters included here he writes simply.

It's a pleasure to watch Rhodes progress. His account of the first Battle of Bull Run is a confused mess. He, like most of the soldiers involved, hadn't a clue what was going on. As the diary proceeds, Rhodes's accounts of the battles and movements of the armies become clearer, for, I think, two reasons. First, he is observant and intelligent and learns from what he sees. Second (and partly as a consequence of the first), Rhodes becomes an officer involved in the planning and direction of the battles.

If you want to know what the experience of a real Civil War soldier was like, you cannot do better than this. I will not say "typical Civil War soldier", because I'm not sure there was such a thing, and if there was, Rhodes clearly was not it. "Soldier of exceptional ability" would fit.

Blog review.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elisha Hunt Rhodes is an interesting character. He was pretty much everywhere in the eastern part of the war. Bull Run, Antietam (though he only saw it, did not fight), Gettysburg, Petersburg, the Shenandoah campaign, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Seven Pines, Appomattox Court House. And while he started as a private, he ended the war commanding his regiment as a full Colonel. At 23 years old.

This is an engaging book, edited originally by Rhodes himself. You learn a good deal about daily army life, and also receive excellent first-hand descriptions of many of the battles. A bit dry and emotionless at certain points, but he was writing a daily record of his life, not poetry. And there is a deep sense of authenticity to the thoughts he puts down. "All for the Union" is his frequent response he directs to himself whenever he has complaints about living a rough army life.

Highly recommended to any student of the Civil War.

[MaryAnn (EmilyD1037) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book and its story lived up to all
the hype concerning it. I loved The Civil
War series and read this because of it.
He did a great job of describing the day
by day life of a soldier. He downplayed
his role in the battles, you don't go from
private to Lt. Colonel by just being cautious.

The rest sounded so familiar to what I went
thru as a veteran, not in battle but day to day.

I recommend it to Civil War and history buffs.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

No PTSD for this soldier, who could sleep on a field among the dead and dying, and wake to enjoy a good breakfast. His spare descriptions of battles, were more gruesome than if he added gory details.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

“All For The Union” by Robert Hunt Rhodes is an edited version of the near-daily diary kept by the author’s great grandfather—Elisha Hunt Rhodes—during four years of service in the Union Army during the Civil War. This diary was used extensively by Ken Burns in his landmark PBS-TV series on the Civil War.

Rhodes lived a charmed life during the Civil War as he was in service from the first to the last battle of the Army of the Potomac … under four different commanders. He saw action at many of the major sites, such as: Appomattox Court House, First Bull Run, Cold Harbor, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Petersburg, Spotsylvania, and the Wilderness, among others. Yet in over four years of duty, he was never injured enough to be pulled out of action. He went in as a private and came out as a lieutenant colonel.

Rhodes pretty much spent his entire service with the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers, all along attached to the Army of the Potomac, and followed its course throughout the Civil War … from battle to battle to victory. The tale is structured very much like the Band of Brothers story by Stephen Ambrose, where the narrative follows "Easy" Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division from training camp, to Normandy, to the occupation of Germany. Highly Recommended.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the printed version of the actual wartime journal of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, soldier and then officer in the Union army. It starts when he is 19 and asking his mother's permission to enlist, and ends after the war having returned home to Rhode Island. In that over four year span, he writes a few sentences to a couple of paragraphs every few days or weeks. To be honest, a lot of it is names of officers, troop movements, and descriptions of earth works that made getting through this a little slow for me. However, I kept reading for the bright spots where he is writing about life in camp, the battles, and when they get into towns. I am rounding up from 3.5 just because it is an important primary source for this time period, though if you are not already interested in the Civil War, I think I would recommend instead watching the Ken Burns documentary, which uses many excerpts from this book in the voiceovers.

[Paul Haspel · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the observations that Union soldier Elisha Hunt Rhodes offers regarding life in the Army of the Potomac are well-written and thought-provoking, reflecting the moral vision and clarity of mind of a brave young man from Rhode Island who represented well both his home state and the United States of America throughout the American Civil War. Rhodes served with the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteer Infantry Regiment throughout the terrible conflict, and in 1985 his Civil War diary and letters were collected and published by a descendant, Robert Hunt Rhodes, under the title All for the Union.

Elisha Hunt Rhodes, a native of Pawtuxet, Rhode Island, was 16 years old, and was working as a clerk to support his family in 1861 when war broke out (his father had died at sea three years earlier). He joined the army, with his mother’s permission, in June of 1861, with the rank of corporal. By war’s end, he was a lieutenant colonel, and was commanding the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry regiment. Ask your army friends how many people they know who joined the U.S. Army as an E-4 in 2021 and are now an O-5, and you’ll get a sense of how extraordinary Rhodes’s achievement was.

Rhodes was on hand for the Union Army’s first major battle, a surprising and disheartening defeat at Bull Run/Manassas in northern Virginia, and in recounting the battle he conveys well the sadness and disillusionment that he and other Union soldiers felt after the battle, even though the 2nd Rhode Island performed significantly better than many other units during the engagement. The Bull Run/Manassas battle was followed by an autumn and winter of relative inactivity, as Union General George B. McClellan took command of the army, named it the Army of the Potomac, trained it hard, and worked to build up the morale of its soldiers.

Rhodes was employed in staff work in Washington, D.C., that winter, and a diary entry from January 31, 1862, shows that the bad weather is taking its toll: “Mud, mud. I am thinking of starting a steamboat line on Penn. Avenue between our office and the Capitol.” The bad weather affects not only the individual soldier’s spirits but also the army’s ability to move against the enemy: “Will the mud never dry up so that the Army can move? I hope so, for I am tired and weary of mud and routine work.” At the same time, with his customary self-awareness and presence of mind, Rhodes reflects that “perhaps after a while I may be sighing for my comfortable quarters in Washington” (p. 54).

Rhodes would indeed get plenty of battle action in the months and years that followed. Later in that same year of 1862, the 2nd Rhode Island fought in McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign, in the Seven Days’ Battles around Richmond, and in the singularly bloody Battle of Antietam in Western Maryland. And when Rhodes’s fellow Rhode Islander Ambrose Burnside was given command of the Army of the Potomac, Rhodes had the chance to see how a fellow resident of the Ocean State would fare in command of a major army.

Sadly, General Burnside did not fare well at all in combat command; the Battle of Fredericksburg in December of 1862 resulted in horrific casualties for the Union forces, with no tactical or strategic gains to compensate for all those soldiers killed and wounded. Elisha Hunt Rhodes tries gamely to defend his fellow Rhode Islander’s generalship at Fredericksburg, writing on December 21 that “Notwithstanding our late defeat, we all have confidence in General Burnside. If his plans had been carried out, we should have won a victory” (p. 92).

But when it comes to Burnside’s generalship at Fredericksburg, editor Robert Hunt Rhodes is probably closer to the mark when he describes Burnside as a commander who “lacked confidence in himself” and “gave unclear and incomplete battle orders” to his corps commanders, until “some of his officers lacked confidence in his plan of attack. His vacillation resulted in losing the element of surprise, the ever-strengthening of the Confederates’ already good defensive position, and the demoralization of his troops in the miserable weather.” Yet “Burnside, despite the obvious failure of his plan, refused to change his orders” (p. 253), and the result was the disaster of Fredericksburg. R.H. Rhodes does acknowledge that “Probably the best tactic employed at Fredericksburg was his rapid and silent escape across the river during a noisy, stormy night” (p. 253); but if the best one can say about a general’s command performance is that he successfully retreated without losing all of his army, then that sort of damning-with-faint-praise speaks for itself.

Fredericksburg was followed by another long winter and early spring of inactivity – this time, with Unionists and Confederates watching each other from opposite sides of the Rappahannock River. A strange sort of unofficial truce seems to have developed at that time. On April 14, 1863, Rhodes writes from Falmouth, Virginia (on the north bank of the Rappahannock, directly across from Fredericksburg) that “Gen. Thomas J. Jackson (Stonewall) came down to the river bank today with a party of ladies and officers. We raised our hats to the party, and strange to say the ladies waved their handkerchiefs in reply. Several Rebel sentinels told us that it was Gen. Jackson. He took his field glasses and coolly surveyed our party. We could have shot him with a revolver, but we have an agreement that neither side will fire, as it does no good, and in fact is simply murder” (pp. 103-04).

Such truces could not last forever, of course; and within weeks, Rhodes and the 2nd Rhode Island were fighting once again – first in the Union defeat at Chancellorsville, Virginia, and then in the crucial Union victory at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, two months afterward. The alert reader will note that I have not yet provided any of Rhodes’s actual recollections of battlefield action. The reason is that I wanted to use a particularly powerful example, from later in Rhodes’s U.S. Army service, to draw the reader’s attention to the calm manner in which Rhodes recalls his battlefield experiences – muted and direct, and as far as one can get from the vainglory of some fireside patriots.

For evidence of Rhodes’s tendency to be right in the thick of the very worst Civil War battle action: He begins his May 11, 1864, entry by writing that “Yesterday we had another fearful day of battle” (p. 150). He writes about how the 2nd Rhode Island found itself in a very bad place in the fighting near Spotsylvania Court House, reporting that “On the right of our line the works formed an angle, and our Regiment found itself enfiladed by the enemy. Soon the horses and gunners of a Battery posted in the angle were killed or disabled, and the enemy charged with loud yells upon the guns” (p. 151). Rhodes had to deliver messages back and forth between regiment and battery, and repeatedly ran a gauntlet of very heavy fire.

Rhodes soon found that, within that angle, the 2nd Rhode Island was taking errant “friendly fire” from a misdirected Union battery, as well as all-too-accurate rifle and artillery fire from the Confederates. Rhodes recalls quite calmly how “a bullet hit me in the breast, tore a piece from my coat, but glanced upon my pocket book and then struck me a glancing blow upon the right arm. I thought my arm was gone and hastily stripped, only to find a slight flesh wound” (p. 152). Meanwhile, “A Brigade of Jersey troops were brought up and attempted to enter the angle but were driven back” (p. 152).

Serious students of American Civil War history have already anticipated that this angle Rhodes keeps referring to is the angle – the “Bloody Angle” or “Mule Shoe Salient” that is said to have been the site of the fiercest and most intense hand-to-hand fighting of the entire Civil War. Rhodes was indeed fortunate to survive that terrible day; but characteristically, he does not make a big deal of his battlefield courage.

The reader also gets a sense of Rhodes’s religious devotion throughout All for the Union. On Sunday, December 25, 1864, in the siege lines around Petersburg, Rhodes writes that “This is the birthday of our Saviour, but we have paid very little attention to it in a religious way.” He does not complain of it, though, noting simply that “It does not seem much like Sunday or Christmas, for the men are hauling logs to build huts. This is a work of necessity, for the quarters we are using are not warm enough.” Ever the practical military man, Rhodes is always concerned to make sure that his men have sufficient food and shelter. He adds that “This is my fourth Christmas in the Army. I wonder if it will be my last” (pp. 202-03).

With the advantage of hindsight, we know that that Christmas Day of 1864 will indeed be his last Christmas in the Army of the Potomac. Throughout All for the Union, Rhodes emphasizes how strongly he wishes to see the war through to final Union victory, and it is inspiring to see the quiet joy and gratitude with which he greets the moment when the United States of America has its new birth of freedom.

The book is titled All for the Union because the phrase is one that Rhodes frequently uses. In response to the rigours of a soldier’s life – bad food or no food, little sleep or no sleep, bad weather, long marches – Rhodes is philosophic, often stating something to the effect that “Oh, well, it is all for the Union.” It is fun to see Rhodes’s impressions of various Civil War luminaries – not just “Stonewall” Jackson, as mentioned above, but also President Abraham Lincoln (“a good honest man”) and Union General Ulysses S. Grant (a brave soldier and a resolute leader, but “he sits his horse like a sack of meal”).

All for the Union may be better known than many other Civil War soldier diaries because filmmaker Ken Burns drew upon it for his multi-part documentary The Civil War (1990), in order to leaven the film’s focus on military and political leaders with testimony from examples of the ordinary soldiers who did most of the marching and fighting of that war. Burns chose well, because All for the Union is one of the very best of the hundreds of Civil War soldier diaries that I have read.

I took up this book on a visit to Rhodes’s home state of Rhode Island, and am glad that I did. Rhodes emerges from the pages of All for the Union as both accessible and heroic. He knew that he had done great and important things in that war; and yet, at the same time, he came across as the sort of thoroughly decent fellow with whom you might fall into friendly conversation at a coffee shop in Newport, or on a train in Providence, without his ever telling you a thing about what he did in the Civil War.

[Marc Gingras · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting book....great story ! the dude wrote like Dr P would talk!

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have works on the Civil War written by generals (e.g., the memoirs of Ulysses Grant and James Longstreet) and other officers (E. P. Alexander, Moxley Sorrell). However, equally valuable is the view from the bottom, by the foot soldiers. From the Confederate side, the paradigm example is Sam Watkins, "Company Aytch". From the Union side, Elisha Hunt Rhodes fills the bill. He rose through the ranks, and his diaries and letters provide a first-hand, ground-level view of the war in the east. As the Introduction by one of his descendants notes (Page xv): "He participated in every campaign of the Army of the Potomac from Bull Run to Appomattox with rapid promotions up to the rank of colonel in 1865."

Incidents are described plainly and with an eye from the front. On pages 15 and following, he describes the march to Bull Run, the state of the troops, the weariness experienced on that march. Then, the battle itself and aftermath are described in an economical manner. Here and after, his observations of fellow soldiers and officers is most useful, giving the reader a sense of what he was perceiving.

On pages 106 and following is his description of his regiment's (2nd Rhode Island) and his corps' (VI Corps under General John Sedgwick) march to and role at Gettysburg. While the corps arrived late, its uniting with the rest of the Army of the Potomac was a great morale boost for the Union forces, as this Corps was the largest in the northern army, bringing it to full strength at this bloody conflict.

Then, his description of the bloody battle at the Wilderness, where he took the measure of Grant, after vicious fighting. In his diary on May 7th, 1864, he noted (page 138): "If we were under any other General except Grant I should expect a retreat, but Grant is not that kind of soldier, and we feel that we can trust him." In that phrase, he captures nicely the bulldog tenacity of Grant as a General, and identifying what was different from him compared with other commanders of the Army of the Potomac.

His rendering of the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, where General Phil Sheridan jousted with Jubal Early's forces is insightful. He speaks of the classic surprise assault on the Union position while Sheridan was off consulting with Washington. The surprise attack rolled up the Union lines for a time, although the VI Corps held pretty well. His description of Sheridan's role is interesting, as his simple coda for this indicates (page 185): "Hurrah for Sheridan!"

And, finally, these lines (page 221): "Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth, good will to men! Thank God Lee has surrendered and the war will end soon." Thus, his response at Appomattox Court House.

As with Sam Watkins' observations, so, too, with Rhodes'. These observers provide a valuable and insightful perspective on the war from the ground level. Well recommended for those interested in the soldier's view of the Civil War.

[Miles Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many people, I came to "know" Elisha Hunt Rhodes from the epic Ken Burns documentary "The Civil War." His letters and correspondence were frequently quoted throughout that series, and I grew curious about him and finally bought his memoirs to satisfy that curiosity. Rhodes was a remarkable man who joined the Union army at 19 as a private, and ended the war as a 24 year-old colonel who had fought in every major battle from Bull Run (the first) to Appomattox (the last). Rhodes was a typical New Englander of his era -- steadfast, religious, principled, anti-slavery, and firmly pro-Union. He joined because he wanted to see the Rebellion crushed, and turned down many opportunities to leave the army so he could see the war through to the very end. The fact that he did so can be regarded as a minor miracle, for he was present for many severe Union defeats, including the massacres of Fredericksburg and Cold Harbor. Rhodes' faith in victory never wavered, however, and reading his memoirs made me better understand the Army of the Potomac, which never lost faith in itself despite its nearly constant mismanagement by a parade of incompetent generals. My only real criticism of Rhodes' work (compiled and edited by his great-grandson!) is that by and large he is unable to communicate the experience of battle. (This is understandable: he could hardly write down his feelings while being shot at.) Toward the end he writes some terrific stuff about the siege of Petersburg and so forth, but taken as a whole the book is best when dealing with the ordinary realities of army life in the 1860s -- marching, drill, mud, rain, snow, heat, disease, mail call, religious services, promotions, social calls, military politics, the ever-present obsession with food, and the mischievous antics of soldiers. The whole world Rhodes lived in -- a world of deep patriotism (northern and southern), rock-solid religious belief, running correspondence, strict social convention, and strangest of all to modern eyes, chivalry -- seems so far removed from the amoral sewer in which we now reside as to almost appear alien, but it was all true and it all happened, and Rhodes' letters and diaries are proof that yes indeed, it was worth fighting and dying for.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this on my bookshelf since shortly after the first airing of Ken Burns' documentary, "The Civil War." I am pleased to say I enjoyed it very much. It will not be to everyone's taste, as it is an almost day-by-day accounting of Elisha Hunt Rhodes' four years in the Union Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. As a journal, it is a wonder of detail and the minutiae of everyday Army life--marching, making camp, digging fortifications, foraging, making the most of small entertainments, and so on. It also reveals much about the character and resolve of the war's earliest volunteers, particularly the New Englanders who served much of the war in close companionship.
Rhodes fought from the war's first battle (1st Bull Run) through to one of its last (Saylor's Creek) just days before the surrender at Appomattox Court House. He participated in most of the major battles in the Eastern theatre, or witnessed them, and survived with only a few scratches, even as friends and respected officers fell around him, and rising from private to Colonel commanding a regiment in those 4 years. Civil War buffs should definitely read this very fair account of a soldier's life; you'll appreciate Rhodes' occasional dry humor, his calm acceptance of the life of a soldier and duties of an officer, and his stoical resolve to give "all for the Union" should God require that of him. A remarkable example of a military memoir.

[Kenneth Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

[Roe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents a comprehensive firsthand account over Elisha Hunt’s Rhodes military career during the Civil War. Rhodes is a island clerk who enlisted as a 19 year old private in the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers in May of 1861. He then quickly rose through the ranks as he left service as a colonel in 1865. There is a reason why this military history over his military experience in the Civil war is considered one of the best sources for information over the Union Army’s development. Robert Hunts Rhodes then does his great grandfather justice as he compiles these diaries and letters while highlighting Elisha Rhodes unwavering personal ethos, “I have been successful in my Army life... simply because I have always been ready and willing to do my duty” (pg. 10). An ethos that is a core part of the main theme in this book as it shows Elisha Rhodes personal journey as a 19 year old private at the “Battle of Bull Run” to a 24 year old colonel at Appottomax.

This book starts with the growth and development of Elisha Hunts Rhodes from a volunteer in the Rhode Island Volunteers into a veteran solder that is accustomed to what he needs to be a good soldier. For Rhodes starts off happy about enlisting in the army but he soon gets a shocking revelation during the first Battle of Bull Run in the year of 1861. A revelation that made him realize how ignorant he was about being a soldier. This then leads into Elisha Rhodes building himself up from the citizen soldier mindset, to a hardened veteran.

Rhodes journey into becoming a hardened veteran then comes to a peak during the leadup to the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863. As Rhodes had endure a difficult footmarch leading up to that Battle that tested his physical limits. However, due to his previous experience , he was able to persevere through the struggle and finish the long footmarch, as stated by Elisha Rhodes account of the event, “I was taken sick upon the road and fell helpless to the ground. The Surgeon, Dr. Carr, gave me a remedy...when I began to revive. I immediately hurried on and soon came up with my Co. ‘B.’” (pg 139-140).

Now a battle hardened soldier, Elisha Rhodes continues through his military career, and eventually faces a great challenge. As he loses a dear comrade of his and has to persevere through that sorrow in order to finish the fight during the “Bloody Angle.” Robert Rhodes organizes these accounts to depict how the now experienced Elisha Rhodes is able to not only survive the many challenges he will face in his military career, but to also thrive in it. Which just is all put together by Robert Rhodes to show Elisha Rhodes refusal to quit personality that allows him to persevere through every phase of the Civil War, completing his military career as a young private with the citizen soldier mindset, into an experienced soldier as he is mustered out of the army as a Colonel.

[Steven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always like to preface a reveiw when the genre isn't my thing, by mentioning that. I hate when people give reviews like "This horror movie sucked." And then at the end of the review they mention that they hate horror movies. So, ahem, I'm not a big Civil War memory/history/biography guy. Nor other real war-narratives, for that matter. Yet, I found this book quite... endearing. It's well-written, straightforward, and there's something amazing in reading his stalwart responses to some of the horrific elements of things he encounters.
War, for sure, is hell, and one can see it here. It's impressive just how many times his unit had to go defend the retreat of others (i.e. everyone else is running like hell, because they're about to be overrun, and HIS troops are ordered to stand there and take it, so others can get away... you can see how of course the idea is that it ultimately saves more lives, but what does it take to repetitively be the guy taking that risk and being sacrificed, so others can live? A subtle, unstated heroism in the book...

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

“All for the Union: The Civil War Diary & Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes” by Robert Hunt Rhodes (great grandson) and Elisha Hunt Rhodes deserves 5 stars for historical importance and readability. Elisha Hunt Rhodes entered the U. S. Army as a 19 year-old private in May 1861 and was mustered out in July 1865 as a Colonel. In the meantime he saw action in most of the major battles in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. He was hit several times by bullets/shrapnel but never seriously wounded. He saw death and destruction on a scale few humans have ever seen. And yet, through it all, he maintained his good sense, devotion to the cause, and intelligence. This is not a literary masterpiece or an overview of the civil war. But it is amazing insight into the mind and motivation of a union soldier from Rhode Island who witnessed and help make history. Highly recommended!

[Todd Honig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one the best books about the Civil War I have ever read. If you didn't know it was a true story you might think somebody just did a lot of research and wrote a novel about the Civil War. Elisha Hunt Rhodes enlisted in the Union Army with the at the age of 19 as a private and rose through the ranks to Colonel by the end of the war. He served at both Bull Run and Appomattix, as well as Wilderness,Gettysburg, and a number of other major battles of the war. When you finish this book you'll feel like you were in the war yourself, it's that well written.

[Raving Redcoat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at a regiment that fought for the Army of the Potomac from First Manassas to Appomattox. This is not history in the grand scope, but the day-to-day drudgery of a single regiment as it camped, marched, and fought (both on the front line, and in reserve). What I found truly fascinating is how Rhodes reveals himself as more of a Unionist than an Abolitionist. A solid book for people interested in American Civil War, or in Rhode Island history.

[E B · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good read as far as Diaries and Letters. You follow a young man through the war fighting on the Union side as he ranks up and matures. Sadly, you can really feel the one sided mentality that people take when fighting a war. Even in his letters he minimizes losses and speaks extremely highly of any victory. Certainly a good read, but not what I was expecting based on the hype around this book.

[Christopher Franqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like many others found this book after watching the Ken Burns Civil War documentary series. One thing that always strikes me about these books written by civil war veterans is The way they step out sides the narrative and speak to you the "dear reader". It's so charming. He tells the story that you miss if you only read the history books. It's real from a man who was there in the thick of things. It's personal look at a dark chapter in our history. Worth every second to read.

[Ronald Kenneth Fallows · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Civil War from the perspective of a Yankee soldier

Good easy to follow overview for those interested in the American Civil War. Also provided an insight into the day to day life of a typical service man who progressed through the ranks. Particularly enjoyed the introduction

[Hans Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic of the Civil War personal narrative genre, Elisha Hunt Rhodes' "All for the Union" is a peerless memoir-of-sorts following a young man from Rhode Island from First Bull Run to Appomattox, from Private to Colonel. A deeply personal read that illustrates with unique brevity and feeling the experiences of a soldier of the Army of the Potomac.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this diary written by a Union soldier who fought in every campaign of the Army of the Potomac to Petersburg and Appomattox Court House. He had a sterling army career starting as a private and ending as a colonel 4 years later. All through the book he states that the hardships he faced were "all for the Union."

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great resource for students studying the Civil War and how various parts of the wartime were experienced. Rhodes' writing discusses the adrenaline of battle, the sadness of loss, and most importantly, the mundane nature of the war. The editors have done a great job of adding letters and images when possible, and the overall organization of a massive amount of letters is impressive.

[Adam Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good street level remembrances!

Elisha Hunt Rhodes was an unsung American hero from the War of the Rebellion. While his reminisces being focused on minutiae of military life can be difficult to navigate, his passion for saving the Union, ending slavery and preserving his Christian character shine through. Well worth the effort!

[Michael Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written and easily readable account of one man's experience in the civil war. Elisha Hunt Rhodes provides a glimpse into the experience and motivations of some of the men who enlisted and fought to preserve the Union. His narrative is easy to follow and readily understandable to the modern reader. I can see why Ken Burns highlighted in his series.

[J.R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel bad not giving it a higher score because Rhodes was a really interesting man with an incredibly unique life experience. He went from an enlisted private to COL in under 5 years during the Civil War!

However, I'm not generally a big fan of autobiographies or of the civil war time period, so three stars it is.

[Paul LaFontaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent view into the operations of the Union Army that follows the career of Elisha Hunt Rhodes. Much of the experience is boring. Camp life, army life. What is fascinating is that his commitment to the cause and to serving never seems to waver.

Highly recommend

[Meagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much. Elisha H. Rhodes is the type of person that reading his journals make you lonesome for him. You fall in love with him, you get invested in the civil war in a way that you never were before, and you cry and cheer with him. I teared up as I finished the book.

[Jessica Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and honest look into a soldier who lived during the civil war. Surviving to the end of the war and promoted from private on up, it's amazing to see how men and women sacrificed their life all for the Union.

[Jeff Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A surprisingly upbeat first-hand account of the war as told by Rhodes' own diary entries. Fascinating to see how much of the Eastern theater's famous locations he made it into, and out of.