Story of a Regiment

[johan_steele]

The Story of a Regiment; service of the 2nd MN VI in the Civil War 1861-1865 by Judson Bishop

A pretty good narrative of one of the premier Regiments of the Union in the West. It's full of good information though it glosses over some subjects and completely omits some of the problems the Regiment had when initially Brigaded w/ the Regulars. But all in all a good book. It was written for the veterans of the unit and glosses over some of the nagatives of the War it still gives valuable info for a first rate Volunteer Regiment.

Well worth the $25 or the time it takes for an interlibrary loan.

[gary]

Shane, is this a first hand account or written by a post-war historian? I try to prioritize my reading. Thanks.

[johan_steele]

Gary, It is written by Judson Bishop, he was the third Colonel for the Regiment. Initially joining as a Captain w/ A Company. There is some good information added by a historian much later but the bulk of the book is written by Col Bishop. It was written in 1881.

[gary]

Thanks Shane. I'm going to look into this one.

[bill_torrens]

Gary,

This may not be the appropriate way in which to answer a query you posted in September, but I can't figure out any other way of doing it.

You asked about "An Englishman in the American Civil War: The Diary of Henry Yates Thompson". I have a copy. Thompson was a wealthy & well-educated young Englishman of vehemently pro-Union views, and the diary covers his visit to North America during the second half of 1863. He was simply an observer, and spent most of his time outside of the combat zones.

From a military point of view the highlight is provided by the fact that he was only standing a few yards away from Grant at Chattanooga on 24th November and witnessed the capture of Missionary Ridge:

"The only man who seemed unmoved was General Grant himself, the prime author of all this hurly burly. There he stood in his plain citizen's clothes looking through his double field-glasses apparently totally unmoved. I stood within a few feet of him and I could hardly believe that here was this famous commander, the model, as it seemed to me, of a modest and homely but efficient Yankee general. I stood next to General Grant for quite some time. If the battle had been a pageant got up got my benefit I could not have had it better."

Thompson's pro-Union views make the book an interesting counterbalance to Fremantle. It's certainly worth reading, although I would'nt recommend spending a substantial amount of money on it.

Bill