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Four Years of Fighting
FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING is Charles Coffin?s engrossing account of his eyewitness experiences as an Army War Correspondent during the Civil War, from the first battle at Bull Run to the fall of Richmond. Coffin was in Savannah soon after its occupation by Sherman on his great ?March to the Sea?. He walked the streets of Charleston in her hour of deepest humiliation and rode into Richmond on the day that the stars of the Union were thrown in triumph to the breeze above the confederate Capitol. Coffin?s authentic narratives of events and incidents of life in camp, hospital and on the march during the long hours of battle on land and at sea reproduce the scenes of the Civil War.
- GenresAmerican Civil War
558 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1866
About the author
Charles Carleton Coffin
255 books14 followersCharles Carleton Coffin was an American journalist, Civil War correspondent, author and politician.
Coffin was one of the best-known newspaper correspondents of the American Civil War. He has been called "the Ernie Pyle of his era," and a biographer, W.E. Griffis, referred to him as "a soldier of the pen and knight of the truth." Yet he remains little known to the present day generation.
A descendant of Tristam Coffin who arrived in the American colonies from England in 1642, Charles Carlton Coffin was born in Boscawen, New Hampshire, on July 26, 1832. Growing up in rural New Hampshire he was home-schooled by his parents. Village life revolved around the church, and in his teens Charles went to work in a lumbering operation and with $60 from his earnings, he purchased an organ which he gave to the church, and became the first organist.
more : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
Coffin was one of the best-known newspaper correspondents of the American Civil War. He has been called "the Ernie Pyle of his era," and a biographer, W.E. Griffis, referred to him as "a soldier of the pen and knight of the truth." Yet he remains little known to the present day generation.
A descendant of Tristam Coffin who arrived in the American colonies from England in 1642, Charles Carlton Coffin was born in Boscawen, New Hampshire, on July 26, 1832. Growing up in rural New Hampshire he was home-schooled by his parents. Village life revolved around the church, and in his teens Charles went to work in a lumbering operation and with $60 from his earnings, he purchased an organ which he gave to the church, and became the first organist.
more : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_...
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 3, 2022
What a riveting read!
The author is a journalist who accompanied the Union armies throughout the Civil War, and the “Boys” of the title are the Union troops.
The book is a collection of his dispatches originally sent to his newspaper, the Boston Journal. Shortly after the war’s end, a group of his friends persuaded him to publish them in collected form, which he did in 1866. The book I have was published in 1896 yet is in such good condition that it looks and feels like one published in the 1950s or 1960s.
Of course I love history, but it is rare to come across such an inclusive narrative of major events in the Civil War as this represents. As a first-person witness this is one volume that must be preserved!
In its pages, one finds encounters between the author and Lincoln, Grant (and several other officers of the war), soldiers, numerous civilians (of both North and South) and, most fascinating of all, several lengthy encounters with Black people, some of them slaves running away from the South towards the North, others former slaves. Their emotional eloquence makes up some of the most powerful pages. Other equally powerful sections describe many of the battles – and, while not dwelling on them, testimony to the massive slaughter and suffering they inflicted. In no other volume have I found such evidence for how many horses were killed in the war; after all, they were not just the war horses of the cavalry, but the beasts of burden that hauled cannon and food and other supply wagons necessary for the troops on both sides. And, when bullets and shells filled the sky, they, too, were pierced and blown apart.
At this point, it is best that I let Mr. Coffin speak for himself in words taken from his Introductory (as he puts it) – and the punctuation and spelling is his:
“I was an eye-witness of the first battle at Bull Run, of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow [a notorious incident in which trapped Black Union soldiers attempting to surrender were murdered by the Confederates], Memphis, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Hanover Court-house, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, and Five Forks. I was in Savannah soon after its occupation by Sherman on his March to the Sea. I walked the streets of Charleston in the hour of her deepest humiliation, and rode into Richmond on the day that the stars of the Union were thrown in triumph to the breeze above the Confederate Capitol.
“It seems a dream, and yet when I turn to the numerous note-books lying before me, and read the pencilings made on the march, the battle-field, in the hospital, and by the flickering camp-fires, it is no longer a fancy or a picture of the imagination, but a reality. The scenes return. I behold once more the moving columns, -- their waving banners, -- the sunlight gleaming from gun-barrel and bayonet, -- the musket’s flash and cannon’s flame. I hear the drum-beat and the wild hurrah! Grant, Sherman,
Sheridan, Meade, Burnside, Howard, Hancock, and Logan are leading them; while Sedgwick, Wadsworth, McPherson, Mansfield, Richardson, Rick, Baker, Wallace, Shaw, Lowell, Winthrop, Putnam, and thousands of patriots, are laying down their lives for their country. Abraham Lincoln walks the streets of Richmond, and is hailed as the Great Deliverer, -- the ally of the Messiah!
“It has been my aim to reproduce some of those scenes, -- to give truthful narratives of events, descriptions of battles, incidents of life in camp, in the hospital, on the march, in the hour of battle on land and sea, -- writing nothing in malice. I have endeavoured to give the truth of history rather than the romance; facts instead of philosophy; to make real the scenes of the mighty struggle.”
I thank he masterfully succeeded in his goals! If you can find a copy of this book, I think you will find it mesmerizing as people long dead speak, live, suffer, and remember yet once again! Powerful stuff!!!
The author is a journalist who accompanied the Union armies throughout the Civil War, and the “Boys” of the title are the Union troops.
The book is a collection of his dispatches originally sent to his newspaper, the Boston Journal. Shortly after the war’s end, a group of his friends persuaded him to publish them in collected form, which he did in 1866. The book I have was published in 1896 yet is in such good condition that it looks and feels like one published in the 1950s or 1960s.
Of course I love history, but it is rare to come across such an inclusive narrative of major events in the Civil War as this represents. As a first-person witness this is one volume that must be preserved!
In its pages, one finds encounters between the author and Lincoln, Grant (and several other officers of the war), soldiers, numerous civilians (of both North and South) and, most fascinating of all, several lengthy encounters with Black people, some of them slaves running away from the South towards the North, others former slaves. Their emotional eloquence makes up some of the most powerful pages. Other equally powerful sections describe many of the battles – and, while not dwelling on them, testimony to the massive slaughter and suffering they inflicted. In no other volume have I found such evidence for how many horses were killed in the war; after all, they were not just the war horses of the cavalry, but the beasts of burden that hauled cannon and food and other supply wagons necessary for the troops on both sides. And, when bullets and shells filled the sky, they, too, were pierced and blown apart.
At this point, it is best that I let Mr. Coffin speak for himself in words taken from his Introductory (as he puts it) – and the punctuation and spelling is his:
“I was an eye-witness of the first battle at Bull Run, of Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, Island No. 10, Fort Pillow [a notorious incident in which trapped Black Union soldiers attempting to surrender were murdered by the Confederates], Memphis, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Fort Sumter, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Hanover Court-house, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad, and Five Forks. I was in Savannah soon after its occupation by Sherman on his March to the Sea. I walked the streets of Charleston in the hour of her deepest humiliation, and rode into Richmond on the day that the stars of the Union were thrown in triumph to the breeze above the Confederate Capitol.
“It seems a dream, and yet when I turn to the numerous note-books lying before me, and read the pencilings made on the march, the battle-field, in the hospital, and by the flickering camp-fires, it is no longer a fancy or a picture of the imagination, but a reality. The scenes return. I behold once more the moving columns, -- their waving banners, -- the sunlight gleaming from gun-barrel and bayonet, -- the musket’s flash and cannon’s flame. I hear the drum-beat and the wild hurrah! Grant, Sherman,
Sheridan, Meade, Burnside, Howard, Hancock, and Logan are leading them; while Sedgwick, Wadsworth, McPherson, Mansfield, Richardson, Rick, Baker, Wallace, Shaw, Lowell, Winthrop, Putnam, and thousands of patriots, are laying down their lives for their country. Abraham Lincoln walks the streets of Richmond, and is hailed as the Great Deliverer, -- the ally of the Messiah!
“It has been my aim to reproduce some of those scenes, -- to give truthful narratives of events, descriptions of battles, incidents of life in camp, in the hospital, on the march, in the hour of battle on land and sea, -- writing nothing in malice. I have endeavoured to give the truth of history rather than the romance; facts instead of philosophy; to make real the scenes of the mighty struggle.”
I thank he masterfully succeeded in his goals! If you can find a copy of this book, I think you will find it mesmerizing as people long dead speak, live, suffer, and remember yet once again! Powerful stuff!!!
April 29, 2020
Charles Coffin is a reporter for a Boston newspaper who primarily follows the Army of the Potomac throughout the Civil War. Written in 1881 before most histories were available from notes and articles written during the was, Coffin brings a unique perspective. He appears to be a committed Christian and his accounts reflect the move of God's Spirit in the course of the war. With the spiritual in view, much of the book is a real encouragement to those who believe God's purpose was achieved. The insight to slaves gratitude to God for their freedom is well described and shows how much the slaves desired and prayed for freedom. Great book for Christians.
June 28, 2019
Hands down the best book I’ve read on the Civil War. Written by a Union war correspondent that was on the battle fields with Union leaders such as Grant, Sherman and Foote. From Ft. Donelson to Appomattox. An abolitionists telling of the war with great interviews with soldiers, farmers as newly freed slaves. Makes you understand the those Confederate leaders did not hold any moral high ground when you learn of the atrocities at the prisons the the Confederates used. Must read for anyone that want a feel for those times...
April 9, 2013
Too soon to rate.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews