ebooks Inside the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Experience of Captain Francis Adams Donaldson by J. Gregory Acken; Edwin C. Bearss in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Robert CalletWanted a copy. The subject is an ancestor0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A good book; but I always bristle at someone cutting ...By David M. McGlaughlinA good book; but I always bristle at someone cutting 35% out for various reasons. Let me see all of it; and I'll decide what is important.8 of 8 people found the following review helpful. The standard for Civil War memoirs.By bilagaanaIn letters to his brother and aunt; Francis Adams Donaldson chronicled his daily experiences during three years in the infantry of the Army of the Potomac. Not intending that his words would find their way into publication; he used his letters home to express his hopes; ventilate his frustrations; and convey to his family some sense of the tedium; grandeur and horror he was experiencing. Presented almost as written; this collection of correspondence brings an honesty and immediacy not found in the often sanitized volumes of other Civil War memoirs. Donaldson was a very young man when he began his service as a volunteer in a Pennsylvania regiment. Enduring the intensity of combat; called upon to lead but not trained as a professional soldier; craving recognition and promotion; his often bitter criticisms of the abilities and personal qualities of his peers and superiors reflect his own inevitable stress and insecurity. There are other collections of such letters from Civil War combatants. What sets this book apart is J. Gregory Acken's remarkable editing and research. Almost every individual and place name mentioned by Donaldson; even if only in passing; is referenced by a footnote. Where available; photographs of the soldiers are provided. You won't be left wondering what happened to these men; whether they survived the wounds which result in their passing from the pages of the memoir; or the course of their careers as they leave the unit; their fate is there in the footnotes. Each chapter is headed by a brief section placing the subsequent letters in historical context. My only criticism of the book comes in these sections; which introduce some jarring redundancies by quoting passages later contained within the letters; themselves. The book comes most alive in the letters describing the battles of Gettysburg and Mills Run. Though it can be a long read at times; you will finish it with the feeling of having shared; in the words of the subtitle; the Civil War experience of Captain Francis Adams Donaldson.