A War of the People: Vermont Civil War Letters

Front Cover
UPNE, 1999 - 357 pages
The Civil War left no Vermonters untouched, and few families free from pain. More than 140 letters -- carefully selected from some 9000 in several archives -- convey in personal terms the combat experience of Vermonters throughout the war. Vermont raised seventeen infantry regiments, one cavalry regiment, three batteries of light artillery and three companies of sharpshooters -- nearly 35,000 soldiers in all. As a result of this impressive commitment, Vermont suffered one of the highest rates of military deaths of any Union state.

A War of the People covers the war chronologically, with editor Jeffrey D. Marshall providing running commentary on both the war overall, and Vermonters' experiences. Supplemented with maps and photographs, it includes many voices -- from privates to colonels, mothers, wives, and best friends, young and old -- writing about battle narratives, camp life, financial advice, family matters, and much more. An African-American soldier from Hinesburgh, a French-Canadian soldier who enlisted in Milton, and dozens of others record their experiences in unforgettable words. Marshall's battlefront/homefront choice of letters provides a deeper understanding of the social and political dimensions that, although secondary to military concerns, were an integral part of Vermont's war years.

From inside the book

Contents

News from Home
1
Spring 1861
16
Ann Stevens
18
Fortress Monroe
25
William Y W Ripley
27
A Havelock
28
The Battle of Big Bethel
31
Summer 1861
34
Libby Prison
141
Spring 1863
144
William C Holbrook
148
Joseph Spafford
149
William D Munson
159
Summer 1863
161
Charles Cummings
165
Battlefield Sketch by Charles Cummings
168

Chester K Leach
37
William Y Ripley Sr
40
Autumn 1861
47
William B Stevens
49
George H Randall
50
Henry H Wilder
51
The Second Vermont at Camp Griffin
56
Charles E Parker
59
Winter 1862 1
61
Walter W Smith
66
George M Lanpher
67
Spring 1862
70
George W Quimby
75
Ship Island
77
John L Barstow
78
A Louisiana Tiger
82
Summer 1862
85
Alfred H Keith
91
The RearGuard at White Oak Swamp
93
Jonathan Remington
94
Rollin M Green
95
John Q Dickinson
100
Avery B Cain
102
Smiths Division at Antietam
105
Richard J Irwin
117
Edward P Stone
119
Destroyed Bridge at Fredericksburg
123
Roswell Farnham
125
Valentine G Barney
135
William Wells
140
The Vermont Cavalry at Gettysburg
172
Cornelius A Chapin
175
Autumn 1863
183
Stephen M Pingree
186
Horace A Putnam
189
Battle of Orange Grove
199
vi
201
Samuel E Pingree
204
Charles C Parker
208
A Christian Commission Chapel
210
Eri D Woodbury
230
George G Howe
237
Rachel Stevens
239
John S Drenan
240
Andersonville Prison
242
Darius J Safford
251
Silas Hall
254
Edward Dewey
256
St Albans Shortly after the War
263
Ann Eliza Smith
269
The Surprise at Cedar Creek
273
Isaac N Watts
278
Joseph C Rutherford
289
Edwin C Hall
290
Appomattox Court House
295
Catherine E Parker
304
Joseph Rutherfords Drawings
307
James G Gallagher
309
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (1999)

JEFFREY D. MARSHALL is University Archivist and Curator of Manuscripts at the University of Vermont.

Bibliographic information