Human Interest Stories of the Civil War

The Civil War was perhaps the defining moment in American history, with about 700,000 lives lost and hundreds of thousands more left maimed or suffering in pain the rest of their lives. Yet, despite the horrors of the battlefield, the vast majority of a soldier's daily life was spent either in camp or on campaign. During and after the war, many men, as well as civilians, left written accounts of their activities. Some of these are humorous, some are ironic; some are tragic. Historians Scott L. Mingus and Dr. Thomas M. Mingus have culled through hundreds of these accounts to select some of the very best human interest stories, rewording and condensing them for the modern reader.