My Days and Nights on the Battle-Field

Downloads: Under 100
Pages: 107

Read PDF online Download Save

About this book

Writing for young readers, Charles Carleton Coffin explains the early Civil War through battles he witnessed and accounts of how armies moved. He identifies himself as a civilian observer, then guides readers across Bull Run, Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, and the river operations around Memphis. His descriptions connect troop movements with the ground beneath them, while diagrams and a glossary help explain military positions, artillery, and fortifications.

The account takes a strongly Union view, beginning with colonial differences and slavery before turning to the gathering armies. Around Pittsburg Landing, wooded hills, creeks, ravines, farms, and road forks shape the narrative as much as the commanders' plans. Coffin follows Grant's steamboat transport and the Southern concentration at Corinth, offering readers a detailed sense of campaign geography and the practical questions behind a battle.

About the author

Charles Carleton Coffin

Charles Carleton Coffin (1823-1896) was an American journalist and author, and one of the best-known war correspondents of the Civil War. Writing for the Boston Journal under the pen name "Carleton," he reported from the field across the entire conflict, from before Bull Run through Appomattox, and witnessed major battles including Antietam and Gettysburg.