One of Jackson's Foot Cavalry

by John H. Worsham

The memoir of a Confederate soldier serving under Stonewall Jackson

Genres: Civil War, History, Civil War Confederacy

346 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 1912

Reviews

[Sandra Hart · Rating 5 out of 5]

His Experience and What he saw
During the War 1861-1865

I discovered this book while researching to write my “Spies of the Civil War” series. The second and third book in the series are set in Richmond, Virginia, in 1862. I was searching for a Virginia regiment with large number of Confederate soldiers from Richmond that stayed in that state for battles fought in the first half of 1862.

I was thrilled to find this book written by a Confederate soldier in Company F of the Twenty-first Virginia Infantry. Worsham gives detailed accounts of battles and where they camped. He provides names of the men who were elected as officers.

The author was proud to be a soldier in General “Stonewall” Jackson’s division of the Second Corps.

Worsham wrote a well-written, detailed account of what the Confederate soldiers endured during the war. It was published in 1912. I’m grateful for soldier accounts such as these.

A great book for readers who enjoy American history, soldier autobiographies, and the Civil War.

[CAW · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sgt.Worsham's memoir is that of the Eternal Squaddie: by turns hilarious, brutal and sad, with firsthand notes on historical personages, period attitudes and just how a soldier gets soggy.

The peculiar and fascinating civility of the American Civil War is boldly on show in these pages, along with the usual accounts of deaths both glorious (rare) and painfully inglorious (the usual sort). It's an extremely frank glimpse into a Western world not fully Industrialised, in peace or in war - this was the last war in which cavalry and cannon played a major part, and where an army was equipped mostly on what its parents could make or afford, soldiers cooking their own rations and making their own cartridge.

Despite being an unrepentant rebel, Sgt.Worsham has little to no interest in propaganda and as such has both an extremely readable style for a Victorian and a very frank way of expressing his opinion as his opinion, without attempting to either apologise for anything on behalf of his country or claim moral right. If you want history stripped of the constructions and inter-state hatred I am increasingly convinced was bred by Resconstruction, it would be hard to find a better witness than Sgt.Worsham.

[Monte Lamb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The exploits of a Civil War soldier who fought with Stonewall Jackson gives his account of the war. It is about what you would expect with a few good anecdotes, but little good information not found elsewhere.

[Avis Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Available at Open Library:
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL13139...