Eric J. Wittenberg presents many of this newspaperman’s captivating writings in their original form. Kidd wrote eloquently about his Civil War experiences, especially his service with Custer. His speech given at the dedication of the Custer monument in Monroe, Michigan is particularly important, as it provides readers with one of the first revisionist views of the tragedy that befell Custer at Little Big Horn. Much like Wittenberg’s first book of Kidd’s writings, this latest collection offers insightful, articulate, and entertaining commentary on what it was like to serve in the Civil War and with “the boy general.”

Primarily known for his postwar exploits, most famously his 1876 defeat at Little Big Horn, George Armstrong Custer is receiving renewed interest for his successful Civil War generalship. He led the Michigan Cavalry Brigade in more than sixty battles and skirmishes. Forming perhaps the finest single cavalry brigade in the war, these horse soldiers repeatedly proved themselves as formidable opponents to the Confederates, earning them the nickname of “Custer’s Wolverines.”

Told in his own words, this is the story of Sgt. Thomas W. Smith’s service in the Civil War—the greatest adventure of his life. It is also the story of his regiment, the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, known as Rush’s Lancers, named both for the distinctive wooden lances they carried for the first two years of the war and for their first commanding officer, Col. Richard H. Rush. These letters provide rare insight into the workings and daily life of a noncommissioned officer. They are filled with humor and humanity and demonstrate the hardships withstood by the common soldier of the Civil War. The added narrative and annotations assist the reader in identifying the persons and events described and in placing them in the proper historical perspective and context.

Three related themes are examined in this fascinating study: the social dynamics of race relations in Union Army camps, the relationship that evolved between Southern and Northern black soldiers, and the role off-duty activities played in helping the soldiers meet the demands of military service and the challenges of freedom. By vividly portraying the soldiers’ camp life and by carefully analyzing their collective memory, the author sets the camp experience in the broader context of social and political change.

Author Glen N. Wiche has compiled all of Allen’s Civil War dispatches to the U.S. State Department and provides well-documented commentary to place Allen’s activities in the wider context of the “Atlantic campaign” of the Civil War. Dispatches from Bermuda paints a detailed picture of these activities and offers a rare account of this blockade-running traffic from a northern perspective.

During the Civil War, the majority of the 583 Union generals studied here were afflicted by disease, injured by accidents, or suffered wounds. Following the war, they often suffered lingering diseases and the effects of unhealed wounds. Medical Histories of Union Generals includes a glossary of medical terms as well as a sequence of medical events during the Civil War listing wounds, accidents, and deaths. With his earlier book on Confederate generals, Dr. Welsh has produced a “must have” reference for medical and military historians.

From official records, personal letters, and postwar memoirs, Jack D. Welsh, M.D., has compiled the medical histories of 425 Confederate generals. The generals’ early military experience, at West Point and in Florida, Mexico, or on the western frontier, meant that hundreds of them were exposed to and immunized against the diseases that killed so many soldiers in the Civil War, while many also were wounded or lost limbs. In addition, several survived street fights, duels, and shooting accidents-all before the war. Throughout the Civil War, most officers fought in spite’ of illness or wounds and spent little time in hospitals. Welsh mentions this fact not to point out bravery, but rather to illustrate the prevailing attitudes toward disease and injuries.

Drawing heavily on primary-source material, The Boy General is the first full-length account of Francis Channing Barlow, one of the most successful combat officers in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War. Although his clean-shaven, youthful appearance earned him the nickname “the Boy General,” his fighting capabilities resulted in frequent promotions and greater responsibilities. This book will be welcomed by Civil War historians and buffs alike.

Zoar in the Civil War traces the ways that the Zoar community dealt graciously with the war as a difficult yet inescapable event in its history. Based primarily on unpublished material from archives and collections of the Ohio Historical Society and the Western Reserve Historical Society, this study draws together the largest gathering to date of previously untapped Zoar records. Following a brief and informative introduction, Webber allows these eloquent and fascinating primary sources to tell the story, thereby offering a unique perspective on the American Civil War.

Eminent Cleveland historian David Van Tassel had undertaken the challenge of writing an illustrated history of the Cleveland homefront during the Civil War. Unfortunately, he died in 2000 before completing his manuscript. Historian John Vacha completed the final chapters using notes, lists, and ideas that Van Tassel had gathered, and their efforts are presented in Behind Bayonets.