Civil War Stories

The Civil War was the defining moment in the lives of most Americans who lived during that era. The influence of that period in their lives influenced the remaining years of their lives.

It is no wonder then, that many of those who lived through the war collected their stories, reminisces, and other anecdotes into books after the war. Their stories help us to both understand the war and understand how it could have happened in the first place.

Many of the officers who served during the Civil War wrote their memoirs; however, few were as widely read or as influential after the war as those written by General William Tecumseh Sherman. Sherman’s memoirs served both as a history of the war from his perspective and a sort of military handbook on how to wage total war against an opponent. What sets Sherman’s memoirs apart from many others written by officers of the Civil War era is the same thing that set Sherman apart - a dynamic personality that pervades his every action, or, in the case of his memoirs, every word, making his writing much more compelling than that of other authors of the era. In addition to his volumes of memoirs, modern readers can delve into Sherman’s stories of the war by reading collections of letters he sent during wartime, which offer a much more visceral description of history as it happens.

For those interested in the common soldier’s stories of the war, there is no better place to turn than Samuel Watkins’ Co. Aytch. A Confederate “Webfoot” - private-rank soldier - Watkins’ stories are not that of the glorious lost cause, or the heroic deeds of officers, but of the day-to-day life of the majority of soldiers who served in the Civil War. A favorite among historians for its honest portrayal of life during wartime, relished by readers for its often humorous, often tragic tone, Co. Aytch is regarded as one of the best memoirs to come out of the Civil War. The book was originally serialized in a newspaper in Watkins’ native Tennessee, then published in a first edition of 2000 books in 1882. The book languished for years without another printing until discovered by 20th century historians who valued it for its detail and its unvarnished portrait of the war.

The experience of those who remain at home during wartime is often lost to history, although their stories often offer a new perspective on the events that took place. One such perspective belongs to Mary Boykin Chesnut, an author whose memoirs offer a look at the Confederacy from inside the administration. The wife of a South Carolina politician, Chesnut was close to both Jefferson and Varina Davis, often staying in their home, the Confederate White House, in Richmond. Chesnut’s memoirs trace the Confederacy - and the war - from an idea, to a reality, and then to a misbegotten notion. In doing so, she not only gives a woman’s view of the war and its effects on the South, but also provides insight into the personalities who made up the Confederacy.