Voices from the Civil War: North and South, Men and Women, Black and White

by George J. Bryjak

What was it like to live during the Civil War? Not only for soldiers, but for their wives and children, mothers and fathers, sweethearts and friends? How did people, North and South, cope with four years of fear and misery, death and destruction? In Voices from the Civil War, twenty-six men and women, black and white, young and old tell their stories. Grounded in historical fact, these fictional characters relate how they struggled to survive the greatest conflict in America’s history. Among the voices are an Alabama man who fought for the Union, a newly emancipated slave who refused to leave the plantation of her life-long bondage, a woman who lived in a cave with her starving family during the siege of Vicksburg, a soldier who survived the nightmare of captivity in a POW camp, and a woman who secretly turned to prostitution to support her disabled veteran husband and their child. “Combining a creative imagination with an in-depth knowledge of the Civil War, George J. Bryjak has molded diverse characters of the era and breathed life into them. In authentic voices, they tell us of the horrors and heartaches, the suffering and sadness of America’s bloodiest conflict. Their stories range beyond standard accounts of great armies and battles and generals to intimate terrain – the individual, personal tales of everyday people caught in a cataclysm.” Mark H. Dunkelman, author of War’s Relentless Twelve Tales of Civil War Soldiers

184 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 29, 2017

Reviews

[Military Writers Society of America (MWSA)]

MWSA Review

Much of the legacy of the American Civil War period comes from letters, diaries, and memoirs written by its participants. Voices from the Civil War takes the unique approach of using fiction to examine the heartbreaking impacts of the American Civil War on its populace across several divisions of race, sex, and social roles.

George Bryjak has highlighted more than two dozen social aspects of the Civil War to establish a context for his narrators. He has then developed fictional characters for each of these scenarios and let them tell how those real-life situations could have affected their personal lives. The result is a collection of highly personal—and tragic—vignettes set against the backdrops of little-known aspects of the Civil War.

Voices from the Civil War makes effective use of the juxtaposition of narrative and personal dialog. Each vignette starts with the factual description of a situation, practice, social custom, or predicament and then allows fictional characters to tell their stories. The result is twofold. First, the reader is made aware of an aspect of the Civil War that had a significant impact on one or more segments of American society. Second, the human toll that resulted from that situation is depicted in very personal terms.

While the literary legacy of the American Civil War could be considered to be overcrowded after more than 150 years of writing and publishing, an astounding number of works continue to emerge on the scene. What makes this book stand out is its deft and unusual combination of fact and creative fiction. The work provides a unique take on the conflict and its impact on individuals many readers may not have considered before—women, children, Blacks, and the socially vulnerable.

Review by Peter Young (March 2022)

[William J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, easy reading and informative.

[elizabethedwards]

Loved the book wish there was more of it