Member Review Cush: A Civil War Memoir

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Author: Samuel H. Sprott. Publisher: Livingston Press at The University Of West Alabama. Published in 1999. Paperback and Hardbound. In February,2017,I picked up a good condition paperback for $10.49 on Amazon. Currently $29.99 used on Amazon. Original retail price was $11.00. ISBN 0-942979-55-9.

The author enlisted as a Private in Company A of the 40th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He ended the war in May 1865 as Captain of Co. A,40th AL Inf. As the title indicates,the book is a memoir of his,his Company and Regiment's experiences in the Civil War. The book is based on a series of articles he wrote in 1899 in a publication called Our Southern Home based on his own recollections and some he was able to gather from other members of the regiment. During that series of articles,he asked readers to correct any factual errors he made. In subsequent articles,he would mention any factual corrections. The book is chronological,beginning with the organization of the Regiment in the spring of 1862 to it's surrender on May 4,1865.

Even though the author was an Officer by war's end,his accounts are the kind of things you would expect from an enlisted man about things such as marching and living conditions,quality of rations and the feelings of the men towards their commanding officers and other regiments and the horrors of Civil War combat on the front lines. The author displayed a remarkable memory of the names of other soldiers killed,wounded or captured in the battles the 40th AL Inf was engaged in. Like most memoirs of ordinary soldiers,it doesn't provide a greater understanding of the battles described just the individual experiences of a few soldiers. I am aware of a regimental history book on the 40th AL Inf but no other books specifically about the regiment. As a direct descendant of a member of Company I,40th AL Inf., I did learn some things about my ancestor's experiences in the war. Co.'s A,D and I of the regiment became separated from the rest of the regiment during the Siege of Vicksburg and did not rejoin the regiment until 11/12/1863 shortly before Lookout Mountain. The author's accounts of Chickamauga,the winter of 1863-1864,the Atlanta Campaign and Bentonville were riveting. As I read the section about Chickamauga,I realized that I probably walked on or near some of the ground my ancestor in the 40th Alabama Infantry walked on when I visited there last year. I made notes as I read the book,to help me in planning future battlefield visits. I don't want to give any other details and ruin the surprises of other readers. I was surprised by some of the comments by the author.

If this were an Amazon review,I'd give it 5 stars. It's a very easy read too.

(My CivilWarTalk username is bdtex. I am a 58 year old attorney in the Houston, Texas area and have been an American Civil War enthusiast for a little over 3 years.)
 
View attachment 156993

Author: Samuel H. Sprott. Publisher: Livingston Press at The University Of West Alabama. Published in 1999. Paperback and Hardbound. In February,2017,I picked up a good condition paperback for $10.49 on Amazon. Currently $29.99 used on Amazon. Original retail price was $11.00. ISBN 0-942979-55-9.

The author enlisted as a Private in Company A of the 40th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He ended the war in May 1865 as Captain of Co. A,40th AL Inf. As the title indicates,the book is a memoir of his,his Company and Regiment's experiences in the Civil War. The book is based on a series of articles he wrote in 1899 in a publication called Our Southern Home based on his own recollections and some he was able to gather from other members of the regiment. During that series of articles,he asked readers to correct any factual errors he made. In subsequent articles,he would mention any factual corrections. The book is chronological,beginning with the organization of the Regiment in the spring of 1862 to it's surrender on May 4,1865.

Even though the author was an Officer by war's end,his accounts are the kind of things you would expect from an enlisted man about things such as marching and living conditions,quality of rations and the feelings of the men towards their commanding officers and other regiments and the horrors of Civil War combat on the front lines. The author displayed a remarkable memory of the names of other soldiers killed,wounded or captured in the battles the 40th AL Inf was engaged in. Like most memoirs of ordinary soldiers,it doesn't provide a greater understanding of the battles described just the individual experiences of a few soldiers. I am aware of a regimental history book on the 40th AL Inf but no other books specifically about the regiment. As a direct descendant of a member of Company I,40th AL Inf., I did learn some things about my ancestor's experiences in the war. Co.'s A,D and I of the regiment became separated from the rest of the regiment during the Siege of Vicksburg and did not rejoin the regiment until 11/12/1863 shortly before Lookout Mountain. The author's accounts of Chickamauga,the winter of 1863-1864,the Atlanta Campaign and Bentonville were riveting. As I read the section about Chickamauga,I realized that I probably walked on or near some of the ground my ancestor in the 40th Alabama Infantry walked on when I visited there last year. I made notes as I read the book,to help me in planning future battlefield visits. I don't want to give any other details and ruin the surprises of other readers. I was surprised by some of the comments by the author.

If this were an Amazon review,I'd give it 5 stars. It's a very easy read too.

(My CivilWarTalk username is bdtex. I am a 58 year old attorney in the Houston, Texas area and have been an American Civil War enthusiast for a little over 3 years.)
It is good to see that it provided you with a connection to specific places and amplified their significance for you.
 
It is good to see that it provided you with a connection to specific places and amplified their significance for you.
Thank you sir. That was obviously my primary motivation for reading the book. I've already been to some of those specific places and really have a desire to visit others now. On top of that,it's a soldier's memoir. I haven't yet been disappointed by one of those.
 
Even though the author was an Officer by war's end,his accounts are the kind of things you would expect from an enlisted man about things such as marching and living conditions,quality of rations and the feelings of the men towards their commanding officers and other regiments and the horrors of Civil War combat on the front lines...

I think that was probably true of many of the Old Confeds who seem to have deliberately identified with the "common soldier". The most extreme (because it's also probably the most famous) example is probably our old friend Sam Watkins who in his Co. Aytch never "admitted" or even indicated that he had ended the war as a lieutenant! I think this was a ploy, however sincere or not, likely depending on the individual, to separate themselves from the now-defeated ruling class that many saw as being responsible for the war and concentrate on mutual suffering and loss.
 
I really need to re-read the excerpts from the book about the Vicksburg Campaign before our CWT gathering this October.
 
View attachment 156993

Author: Samuel H. Sprott. Publisher: Livingston Press at The University Of West Alabama. Published in 1999. Paperback and Hardbound. In February,2017,I picked up a good condition paperback for $10.49 on Amazon. Currently $29.99 used on Amazon. Original retail price was $11.00. ISBN 0-942979-55-9.

The author enlisted as a Private in Company A of the 40th Alabama Infantry Regiment. He ended the war in May 1865 as Captain of Co. A,40th AL Inf. As the title indicates,the book is a memoir of his,his Company and Regiment's experiences in the Civil War. The book is based on a series of articles he wrote in 1899 in a publication called Our Southern Home based on his own recollections and some he was able to gather from other members of the regiment. During that series of articles,he asked readers to correct any factual errors he made. In subsequent articles,he would mention any factual corrections. The book is chronological,beginning with the organization of the Regiment in the spring of 1862 to it's surrender on May 4,1865.

Even though the author was an Officer by war's end,his accounts are the kind of things you would expect from an enlisted man about things such as marching and living conditions,quality of rations and the feelings of the men towards their commanding officers and other regiments and the horrors of Civil War combat on the front lines. The author displayed a remarkable memory of the names of other soldiers killed,wounded or captured in the battles the 40th AL Inf was engaged in. Like most memoirs of ordinary soldiers,it doesn't provide a greater understanding of the battles described just the individual experiences of a few soldiers. I am aware of a regimental history book on the 40th AL Inf but no other books specifically about the regiment. As a direct descendant of a member of Company I,40th AL Inf., I did learn some things about my ancestor's experiences in the war. Co.'s A,D and I of the regiment became separated from the rest of the regiment during the Siege of Vicksburg and did not rejoin the regiment until 11/12/1863 shortly before Lookout Mountain. The author's accounts of Chickamauga,the winter of 1863-1864,the Atlanta Campaign and Bentonville were riveting. As I read the section about Chickamauga,I realized that I probably walked on or near some of the ground my ancestor in the 40th Alabama Infantry walked on when I visited there last year. I made notes as I read the book,to help me in planning future battlefield visits. I don't want to give any other details and ruin the surprises of other readers. I was surprised by some of the comments by the author.

If this were an Amazon review,I'd give it 5 stars. It's a very easy read too.

(My CivilWarTalk username is bdtex. I am a 58 year old attorney in the Houston, Texas area and have been an American Civil War enthusiast for a little over 3 years.)

Good review

This book is one of a huge number of books available to read online (free) on Google Books. You can't print or copy & paste from it (or at least I've never figured out how).
But you can word search and read it.

I have heard that some people have, in desperation, used a phone or digital camera to take pictures of important pages, when a book needed for research could not be purchased or found in a library (local or ILL).
 
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