This book is the notes of military service in the Nineteenth Army Corps. Written by James K. Hosmer of the 52nd Regiment Mass.
Hosmer was a pastor in Massachusetts, but driven by a sense of duty, entered service to minister physical and moral welfare to his fellow soldiers. He refused the easier post of serving under General Banks for a front line post. During his time on the front line he wrote letters in the form of a journal, with no thought of their publication, to send to his family. His family later persuaded him to publish them, believing that his many and varied observations gave life like descriptions of the privations, sufferings and perils of those who fought to redeem America from "ruin".
Written with great observation and a human kindness towards his fellow soldiers, this is a great book to discover what life was like for soldiers in 1862.
