This extensive and unique collection; consisting of over 180 letters and hundreds of drawings; covers Reed's period of service (1862-65) and provides the modern reader a wealth of information on the role of the Union army in the eastern theater; the events in the life of the Civil War soldier; and the war in general. A native of Boston; Reed served as bugler of the Ninth Massachusetts Battery; whose desperate holding action at Gettysburg ranks as one the most heroic actions of the war. During this battle Reed performed a deed of selfless bravery by saving his wounded captain from between the lines; an act for which he was later awarded the Medal of Honor. In addition to Gettysburg; Reed saw action in nearly all of the battles in the East from 1862 to 1865; including Bristoe Station; Mine Run; the Wilderness; Spotsylvania; North Ana; Bethesda Church; Cold Harbor; and the siege of Petersburg.Reed's letters chronicle events; from the most common to the extraordinary; with simple yet thoughtful eloquence. His drawings capture a wide variety of events to which he was not only an eyewitness but also a participant. His talent was considered equal to that of leading newspaper artists of his day; and his drawings were used to illustrate a best-selling Civil War book; Hardtack and Coffee (1887). We are fortunate that Reed's writings and drawings have been preserved; and can be presented here in a single volume.
#1349021 in Books 2012-05-29Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.10 x 1.30 x 6.10l; 1.45 #File Name: 0822352869448 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I'm going to use this in a classBy Kindle CustomerI'll be teaching an Early-American Lit class and I think the students will find this book's questions and solid scholarship very helpful in understanding the American frontier myths.7 of 10 people found the following review helpful. A lot of interesting material buried in a lot of leaden proseBy UrsiformThere are a lot of reasons why I really wanted to like this book. It contains a wealth of historical information; from the Icelandic Sagas reporting Norse landings in the Atlantic Northeast; to suggestions that between the landings of the Norse and Columbus Basque and Portuguese fishermen fished the seas off the northeast coast; probably landing from time to time; to hints in Native legends of the region of contacts with Europeans.Then there is the sociology of Americans learning that the Sagas suggested that the Norse may have preceded the Spanish; which appealed to the descendents of northern Europeans. False archeological discoveries in New England fueled this trend of thinking; and were the foundation for a thread in nineteenth century American literature. Protestants used the Sagas to counter the idea of a Catholic discovery of the new world; and Catholics responded by representing Norse landings as the first Christian--and Catholic--spreading of Christianity to the new world.So much to like about the book. But ... The author is an Emerita Professor of literature; not an historian. She seems better at taking stories apart than telling them. She spends too many words on how poets of the nineteenth century were influenced by the Sagas; the false archeological discoveries; and the biases of the time. The Native stories are almost lost in her deconstruction of them; you almost end up thinking they have no historical content.Kolodny obviously did a lot of research for this book; and thought a lot about many topics relating to contact between Natives and Europeans; and about American views of history. But she failed to settle on a narrative thread to tie her book together. For all its merits; it strikes me as disjointed and prolix; I found it a slog to finish.0 of 3 people found the following review helpful. In Search of First ContactBy Carol L. NavarreteGood information that explains why John Gunn was determined to attribute the origin of the Laguna to somewhere like Polynesia. The data is interesting but it could have been summarized down a little.
