Soldier life in the Union and Confederate Armies

by Philip van Doren Stern

Essential for an understanding of what the Civil War was really like, this book is a key to the way American soldiers behaved, thought, and acted a century ago. Although the bugles, single-shot muskets, horses, wagons, and picturesque uniforms have vanished from our modern army, the men themselves-the common soldiers who have to do the dirty work and the actual fighting-are shown here almost unchanged from then to now. Beefing, griping, cursing, yet amazingly good-humored and dependable when things grow hot, the American soldier portrayed here is a symbol of the country that produced him., Philip Van Doren Stern has edited his double portrait of the American fighting man from two of the outstanding books of the period about the daily life of the Civil War soldier. Drawing upon John D. Billings' Hard Tack and Coffee for Union material and Carlton McCarthy's Detailed Minutiae of Soldier Life in the Army of Northern Virginia for Confederate, he shows how the men in both armies lived from day to day -in camp and in battle., Not only the Civil War buff, but anyone who has ever had contact with our armed forces will be- fascinated by this vivid recreation of military life, which seems remarkably modern though nearly a century old., To add to the color of his re-creation the editor has included some jingles and songs of the time, bugle calls and flag signals, as well as 85 line drawings representing scenes of camp life, rations, chores, punishments, uniforms, equipment, and weapons.

Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War

400 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1961

About the author

Philip van Doren Stern (September 10, 1900 - July 31, 1984) was an American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story "The Greatest Gift," published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

Philip van Doren Stern was born in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania into a family of humble means. His Pennsylvania-born father was a traveling merchant of Bavarian descent, who came to Wyalusing from West Virginia with his New Jersey-born wife. Stern grew up in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey, and graduated from Rutgers University.

After graduating from Rutgers in 1924, Philip van Doren Stern worked in advertising before switching to a career as a designer and editor in publishing.

He was a historian and author of some 40 books and editor most known for his books on the Civil War[1] that a New York Times obituary called "authoritative" and "widely respected by scholars". As an editor, he worked at Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, and Alfred A. Knopf. He compiled and annotated short story collections and the writings and letters of Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau.

During World War II, he was a member of the planning board of the United States Office of War Information. He was the general manager of Editions for the Armed Services, which resized popular books so Americans serving in the military could store them in the pockets of their uniforms. He compiled and edited many collections and anthologies of short stories, pictorial books, annotations, and books on historical subjects.

Stern edited, compiled, and introduced The Viking Portable Poe in 1945, a compact collection of letters, short stories, poems, and essays by Edgar Allan Poe. Stern wrote the biographical introduction to the collection, selected the contents included, and wrote introductory essays on the varying genres. The collection became a standard single-volume anthology of Poe's works for almost fifty years.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Union portion is far more fleshed out. This is a very detail oriented book. If you want to know how tent life was customized, how rations were carried, how horses were picketed, etc. this is the book for you. The far briefer unrepentant Confederate portion is more focused on arguing that all the best were on their side, although it does provide greater detail of the campaign leading up to Appomattox.

[Straw · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little book about the everyday life of a soldier in the Civil War. A lot of little factoids that will someday make me rich on Jeopardy.