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The Civil War Years: A Day-By-Day Chronicle of the Life of a Nation
Augments daily entries with eyewitness testimonies from letters and diaries to follow the sequence of events from January 1, 1861 to May 30, 1865
1 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 16, 2021
"The Civil War Years" is, as the subtitle indicates, A Day-by Day Chronicle of the Life of a Nation during its greatest trial.
The Prologue gives the background to the main factors which were important in the war. Thereafter, the body gives an entry of events for every day from January 1, 1861 to May 30, 1865.
Each month begins with a summary of the situation as it existed at the beginning of the month and a brief explanation of the trends which played out during the month. The daily entries follow thereafter.
The entries cover the gamut of participants in the war. Political, military and naval leaders share space with the diaries of enlisted men and civilians. Author Robert Denney treats us to the opportunity of following the lives of individual diarists throughout the war. Prominent among them are John S. Jackman of Kentucky's "Orphan Brigade" which could not return to their Union occupied home state and Lucius Barber of the 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
Barber's entries were of particular interest to me as my great-grand-father, Patrick R. Nealon, was also a member of the 15th. As I read Barber's entries I felt that I was able to get an insight into what Patrick went though during his service. Although his name was never mentioned, I always wondered if he was involved in any of the reported acts of bravery or mischief. There were some thing which I was surprised to learn about the service of the 15th. I did not know that they were only held prisoners for 47 days and that the did return to combat after their parole. The story of their participation in the Grand Review was another surprise for me.
All in all, this is an excellent example of the popular history of the Civil War, which will provide knowledge and enjoyment for any student of the that conflict.
The Prologue gives the background to the main factors which were important in the war. Thereafter, the body gives an entry of events for every day from January 1, 1861 to May 30, 1865.
Each month begins with a summary of the situation as it existed at the beginning of the month and a brief explanation of the trends which played out during the month. The daily entries follow thereafter.
The entries cover the gamut of participants in the war. Political, military and naval leaders share space with the diaries of enlisted men and civilians. Author Robert Denney treats us to the opportunity of following the lives of individual diarists throughout the war. Prominent among them are John S. Jackman of Kentucky's "Orphan Brigade" which could not return to their Union occupied home state and Lucius Barber of the 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry.
Barber's entries were of particular interest to me as my great-grand-father, Patrick R. Nealon, was also a member of the 15th. As I read Barber's entries I felt that I was able to get an insight into what Patrick went though during his service. Although his name was never mentioned, I always wondered if he was involved in any of the reported acts of bravery or mischief. There were some thing which I was surprised to learn about the service of the 15th. I did not know that they were only held prisoners for 47 days and that the did return to combat after their parole. The story of their participation in the Grand Review was another surprise for me.
All in all, this is an excellent example of the popular history of the Civil War, which will provide knowledge and enjoyment for any student of the that conflict.
December 9, 2011
Very educational yet still interesting
August 14, 2015
The format is pretty cool, showing the reader what happened on each day across all theaters. For example, the progress of the Overland, Bermuda Hundred, and Atlanta campaigns can be tracked simultaneously (in "real time"). I do have a couple minor complaints about the book, though. Personally, I didn't enjoy the numerous eyewitness quotes used throughout the book, sometimes taking up a day's entire entry (I'm more interested in military operations). Also, the daily entries ended in May 1865, while the surrenders and mustering out of troops were still continuing into June (or later).
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews