Well Satisfied with My Position offers a first-person account of army life during the Civil War’s Peninsula Campaign and Battle of Fredericksburg. Spencer Bonsall; who joined the 81st Pennsylvania Infantry as a hospital steward; kept a journal from March 1862 until March 1863; when he abruptly ceased writing. Editors Michael A. Flannery and Katherine H. Oomens place his experiences in the context of the field of Civil War medicine and continue his story in an epilogue. Trained as a druggist when he was in his early twenties; Bonsall traveled the world; spent eight years on a tea plantation in India; and settled in Philadelphia; where he worked in the city surveyor’s office. But in March 1862; when he was in his mid-forties; the lure of serving his country on the battlefield led Bonsall to join the 81st Pennsylvania Infantry as a hospital steward. Bonsall enjoyed his life with the Union army at first; comparing bivouacking in the woods to merely picnicking on a grand scale. “We are about as jolly a set of old bachelors as can be found in Virginia;†Bonsall wrote. But his first taste of the aftermath of battle at Fair Oaks and the Seven Days’ Battles in Virginia changed his mind about the joys of soldiering—though he never lost his zeal for the Union cause. Bonsall details the camp life of a soldier from firsthand experience; outlines the engagements of the 81st; and traces the Battle of Fredericksburg and the Peninsula Campaign. He records facts not available elsewhere about camp conditions; attitudes toward Union generals and Confederate soldiers; and troop movements. From the end of June to late October 1862; Bonsall’s illness kept him from writing in his journal. He picked up the record again in December 1862; just before the Battle of Fredericksburg; Virginia; in which the Union suffered a staggering 10;200 casualties and the 81st Pennsylvania lost more than half its men. He vividly describes the bloody aftermath. Bonsall’s horse was shot out from underneath him at the battle of Gettysburg; injuring him seriously and ending his military career. Although he was listed as “sick in hospital†on the regiment’s muster rolls; he was labeled a deserter in the U.S. Army records. Indeed; after recovery from his injuries; Bonsall walked away from the army to resume life in Philadelphia with his wife and child.Published for the first time; Bonsall’s journal offers an unusually personal glimpse into the circumstances and motives of a man physically ruined by the war. Seventeen illustrations; including some drawn by Bonsall himself; help bring this narrative to life.
#794169 in Books 1995-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .63 x 5.93l; .73 #File Name: 0809136066240 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. It was the best price and the book was in a very good ...By Nora96It was the best price and the book was in a very good condition. Besides things underlined almost in every page...which helped so much as they were the main points...nothing else was wrong. The book was perfect and would totally buy from the same seller again!!4 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Mind-Expanding (For Those With An Open Mind)By CamberThis book is only about 200 pages; but I was frankly pretty spent by the time I reached the end; not because the writing isn't clear (it is); but rather because the material is inherently challenging. And how could it not be? After all; we're talking about the big questions; for which no one has definitive answers.To be more specific; John Haught clearly knows his science and his theology; and this book provides a rather sophisticated and intense exploration of the relationship between the two (even though he modestly describes the book as only an "introduction" and a "prologue to conversation"). He frames his exploration by making the strongest case he can for four different views:1. The Conflict view argues that science and religion can't be reconciled; and science has a vastly stronger evidential basis; so religion should be disregarded.2. The Contrast view argues that science and religion ask different kinds of questions and use different methods; so they occupy different spheres and can't come into conflict; even in principle; unless they're mistakenly conflated or trespass into each other's domains (eg; when science drifts into the metaphysical pretensions of materialistic reductionistic scientism; or when religion tries to discern the order of the natural world).3. The Contact view argues that a rigid boundary between science and religion is both naive and unproductive; and that science and religion; though distinct endeavors; should enter into dialogue to try to learn from each other; especially in the direction of religion evolving with advances in scientific understanding (eg; in physics; cosmology; and evolutionary theory).4. The Confirmation view goes further and argues that science and religion are fundamentally engaged in the same quest for deep understanding of reality and existence; so they should work together harmoniously. Religion should thus gladly encourage and appreciate scientific research; no matter where it leads; while science should recognize that it shares religions's faith and trust that reality is indeed substantially intelligible.Haught lays out his main findings from this framework in the first chapter; so this chapter is almost a summary of the book. The remaining eight chapters then apply this framework to more specific questions (Was the universe created? Why is there complexity in nature? Etc.). Haught goes into quite some detail; weilding all sorts of plausible arguments and counterarguments to the extent that I sometimes felt dizzy. Applying the four-views "debate" format to each chapter does result in significant repetition; but I think the pros of this format outweigh the cons.One significant limitation is that; for the purposes of the book; Haught takes "religion" to mean the Abrahamic religions in a general sense; and he takes God to mean their shared conception of a personal God. This of course leaves out both more specific and more general understandings of religion and God; and it also leaves out other very different understandings; such as found in the East. Haught's particular choice here certainly doesn't undermine the book; but one should at least be aware that a different choice would have resulted in a different book.In the end; Haught favors the Contact and Confirmation views; but he's not dogmatic about it; and he shows a genuine desire for continued and open-minded dialogue. I tend to agree with him; though I admit that started the book with those leanings; so the book primarily expanded and enriched my mind rather than fundamentally changing it. In fact; the book reinforced my sense that anyone who has their mind firmly made up on these matters has probably forgotten (or never realized) the uncertainties and fallibility involved; and has thus probably become prematurely trapped in a hardened dogmatism without even realizing it (though; to avoid self-inconsistency; I recognize that I could be wrong about this).In summary; I highly recommend this book to anyone with a sincere interest in exploring the relationship between science and religion. This book is an exceptional resource for that purpose; and the science isn't significantly dated; even though the book was published in 1995. Just be prepared to expend substantial mental energy in reading the book; you may finish the book feeling as perplexed as I was; but it's the good kind of perplexity which comes from earnestly grappling with deep (maybe intractable) questions and thereby better appreciating their profound complexity.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great bookBy James WatrousThis is a great book on the subject of science and religion. The book is divided into nine chapters: (1) Is Religion Opposed to Science? (2) Does science rule out a personal God? (3) Does evolution rule out God's existence? (4) Is life reducible to chemistry? (5) Was the universe created? (6) Do we belong here? (7) Why is there complextiy in nature? (8) Does the universe have a purpose? And (9) is religion responsible for te ecologcial crisis? Instead of just answering this in a straight fashion Dr. Haught writes four different positions and answers them from each position. The postions are Conflict; Contrast; Conversation; and Contact. The conflict apporoach to chapter 1 is yes religon is in conflict with science. While the contrast; conversation; and contact positions are science and religion are not in conflict with each other. Each one has its various reasons why they are not in conflict. The book is divided up nicely and gives the reader food for thought concerning the various issues. I recommend reading it.
