Testament: A Soldier's Story of the Civil War

by Benson Bobrick, Benjamin Webb Baker

The story of the author's great-grandfather's Civil War experience, based on a remarkable set of newly discoverd letters—a powerful, moving addition to the firsthand soldiers' accounts of the Civil War.

Dear Mother,
I was very glad to hear from home this morning. It is the first time since I left Otterville. We marched from Sedalia 120 miles....I almost feel anxious to be in a battle & yet I am almost afraid. I feel very brave sometimes & think if I should be in an engagement, I never would leave the field alive unless the stars & stripes floated triumphant. I do not know how it may be. If there is a battle & I should fall, tell with pride & not with grief that I fell in defense of liberty. Pray that I may be a true soldier.

Not since Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage have the trials and tribulations of a private soldier of the Civil War been told with such beguiling force. The Red Badge of Courage, however, was fiction. This story is true.

In Testament, Benson Bobrick draws upon an extraordinarily rich but hitherto untapped archive of material to create a continuous narrative of how that war was fought and lived. Here is virtually the whole theater of conflict in the West, from its beginnings in Missouri, through Kentucky and Tennessee, to the siege of Atlanta under Sherman, as experienced by Bobrick's great-grandfather, Benjamin W. ("Webb") Baker, an articulate young Illinois recruit. Born and raised not far from the Lincoln homestead in Coles County, Webb had stood in the audience of one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, become a staunch Unionist, and answered one of Abraham Lincoln's first calls for volunteers. The ninety-odd letters on which his story is based are fully equal to the best letters the war produced, especially by a common soldier; but their wry intelligence, fortitude, and patriotic fervor also set them apart with a singular and still-undying voice.

In the end, that voice blends with the author's own, as the book becomes a poignant tribute to his great-grandfather's life -- and to all the common soldiers of the nation's bloodiest war.

Genres: Civil War, History, War, Biography, American Civil War, Nonfiction, American History

277 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2003

About the author

Benson Bobrick earned his doctorate from Columbia University and is the author of several critically acclaimed works. In 2002, he received the Literature Award of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. He and his wife, Hilary, live in Vermont.

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Webb Baker's letters provide a "man in the ranks" view of some of the Union's western armies. This is a valuable primary document detailing conditions and experiences of fighting men in the Civil War. Bobrick contributes a thumbnail sketch of the war to put the letters in context.

[Paul Haspel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Benson Bobrick's Testament does a very good job of foregrounding the ordinary combat soldier's experience of the Civil War. Bobrick achieves this goal by centering his narrative around the Civil War letters of Benjamin W. "Webb" Baker of the 25th Illinois Infantry. Baker, whose letters appear as an appendix at the conclusion of the book, wrote letters home that cover the period from August 1861 to June 1864 -- or, in other words, from very near the beginning to reasonably near the end of the Civil War. In his time as a Union soldier, Webb not only experienced major battles of the Civil War's Western Theatre (Pea Ridge, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga) but also experienced and described the ordinary details of life in camp and on the march, as well as one unique personal tragedy in the aftermath of the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky. Secondary and other primary sources complete the picture of what an average Union soldier experienced during those four terrible years of war.

[Sherry Sharpnack · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really interesting, first-person account of one young Illinois man’s experiences in the Civil War. BW Baker went on to have a distinguished academic career, so his letters are very readable. The letters are fleshed out by his great-grandson, a writer and historian.

Thank goodness that the great-grandson is a historian, b/c we didn’t learn much about the battles that “Webb” participated in from his letters. That information was fleshed out by the writer. I downgraded the book to four stars, b/c the last quarter of the book was a reprinting of most of the source letters in their entirety. They were nearly reproduced in the text of the book, so I felt like Mr. Bobrick was padding the page totals of the book by reproducing the letters. Maybe others will prefer to read the letters w/o the preceding text. Interesting book anyway, esp considering the author’s close relationship to the letter writer.

[RK Byers · Rating 4 out of 5]

did a great job of mixing a first person account with a real and detailed history.

[James (JD) Dittes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought the book because I knew it featured a Union soldier's service in Tennessee, my home state. I wasn't disappointed.

Webb Baker's story doesn't begin with the attack on Fort Sumter. It actually begins with his being a witness to one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. His home county in central Illinois was a battleground between the pro-Lincoln north of the state and the pro-Douglas south. He signs up for the army immediately, a Lincoln-man first--only later will his opinions on slavery change.

Three battles in Tennessee are covered thoroughly: Stones River, Chickamauga (yes, in Georgia but following actions in Tennessee), and Chattanooga, the latter of which Baker missed while recovering from wounds at Chickamauga. Bobrick is a big fan of Rosecrans, showing how initially the general took Chattanooga without a major battle, only to have two things happen (1) the far-bloodier events in Vicksburg and Gettysburgh overshadowed the victory, and (2) Chickamauga, where Rosecrans' tactical superiority was thwarted by a rushed advanced.

The book ends with the texts of letters written in 1861 and 1862, the bulk of which are referenced in the book.

One thing that struck me as I read was Baker's thoughts about Tennessee. He liked the weather and the lush farms. I could see him--even as an invading soldier--taking ownership of the state and considering a life here in peace time. This, of course, lends insight into the legions of Union veteran "carpetbaggers" who surged south after the war to try their hands at peacetime occupation.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author used letters sent home during the Civil War by a young Union soldier from Southern Illinois and mixed them with the young man's infantry unit's history. It made a for a great read of history in the Civil War West and I felt the style really made the history come alive. Definitely a good read.

[Robert Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by my second cousin about our Great Grandfather who fought for Illinois in the Civil War. Bobrick masterfully intertwines Webb's was letters to tell the story of the War from the perspective of an infantry soldier who fight in many important battles while sustaining injuries throughout.

[Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had a very brief, but good, history of proceedings in the US before and at the end of the Civil War, but the bulk of the book was made up of the letters from one Union soldier to his mother. It was really interesting to get such a personal view of the war.

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bobrick is a fine writer and did a great job of combining his great-grandfather's letters from the war with his own narrative. Webb Baker was a fine, patriotic and tough soldier, the kind that sacrificed and served unselfishly and for whom we should be ever grateful.

[Andrei · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating to read actual 'letters home' during this period of American struggle. Get a clear picture on one man's views on what America was fighting for.

[Russell L]

A short book with a personal account of the Civil War by a soldier from Illinois.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The parts that the Soldier wrote are good, I dislike the prose of the "author".