William Henry Harrison Clayton was one of nearly 75;000 soldiers from Iowa to join the Union ranks during the Civil War. Possessing a high school education and superior penmanship; Clayton served as a company clerk in the 19th Infantry; witnessing battles in the Trans-Mississippi theater. His diary and his correspondence with his family in Van Buren County form a unique narrative of the day-to-day soldier life as well as an eyewitness account of critical battles and a prisoner-of-war camp.Clayton participated in the siege of Vicksburg and took part in operations against Mobile; but his writings are unique for the descriptions he gives of lesser-known but pivotal battles of the Civil War in the West. Fighting in the Battle of Prairie Grove; the 19th Infantry sustained the highest casualties of any federal regiment on the field. Clayton survived that battle with only minor injuries; but he was later captured at the Battle of Stirling's Plantation and served a period of ten months in captivity at Camp Ford; Texas.Clayton's writing reveals the complicated sympathies and prejudices prevalent among Union soldiers and civilians of that period in the country's history. He observes with great sadness the brutal effects of war on the South; sympathizing with the plight of refugees and lamenting the destruction of property. He excoriates draft evaders and Copperheads back home; conveying the intra-sectional acrimony wrought by civil war. Finally; his racist views toward blacks demonstrate a common but ironic attitude among Union soldiers whose efforts helped lead to the abolition of slavery in the United States.
#1697880 in BooksColor: Brown Texas AnM University Press 2001-03-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.56 x 1.21 x 6.50l; 1.74 #File Name: 158544121X352 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. We're involved with the reconstructed wreck at the Texas State ...By Kindle CustomerWe're involved with the reconstructed wreck at the Texas State History Museum. This gave us much background on La Salle; the expedition's leader. If he had been successful in planting a colony; would the Louisiana Purchase have happened?0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent reference book for Texas history researchBy Gary1836Another major source of research that was used to help in the research to locate the remains of the La Belle which is being installed in the Texas State History Museum (the Bullock Texas History Museum) in Austin starting in October 2014. Excellent reference book for Texas history research.7 of 11 people found the following review helpful. DisappointingBy Charles SchamenekI live in Texas and have read in the news about the discovery of the Belle; and LaSalle's adventures. I have also visited France many times; and I was looking for a good book to send to my French friends. Not this book. I've only read half of it; and then I gave up. It is a very hard read. Sometimes it reads like a history book or narrative; sometimes it reads like a commentary on history; and sometimes it reads like an editorial; with comments made on other historians. To the extent that it is a history book; it does not always appear to discuss events chronologically. It's hard to tell sometimes because it is such a hard read - hard to follow. It appears that the author skips around a lot; and there is not a good flow to the writing. Also; there was very little in this book on the recent discovery of the Belle.
