Description
Book SynopsisThis remarkable biography and edited diary tell the story of William Ellis Jones (1838-1910), an artillerist in the Army of Northern Virginia. One of the few extant diaries by a Confederate artillerist, Jones's articulate writings cover camp life as well as many of the key military events of 1862.
Trade Review“Witty, candid, and informative, the diary illuminates the harrowing experiences of an artillerist in the Army of Northern Virginia. Constance Hall Jones has performed a valuable service by making it available to scholars and lay readers alike.”-
Michael E. Woods, author of
Bleeding Kansas: Slavery, Sectionalism, and Civil War on the Missouri-Kansas Border “This book is not a dry chronicling of daily life in the ranks. Rather, Jones used his diary as a confessional, digging deep in his interior world to confront war’s absurdities, and reminding us that scores of Civil War soldiers were deeply introspective when it came to the killing and dying of war.”-
Peter S. Carmichael, author of
War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies “Jones’s compelling portrait of her ancestor takes us on a sweeping journey from his family’s origins in Wales to Industrial Richmond to the fall of the Confederate Capital and the making of the Lost Cause myth, all the while breaking stereotypes of the ‘typical’ Southern soldier.”-
Gregg D. Kimball, author of
American City, Southern Place: A Cultural History of Antebellum Richmond “As lush with literary allusions as it is sharp with critiques of military life, the diary of William Ellis Jones epitomizes the soldier’s plight- the relentless sickness, deprivation, and discipline- as well as the small comforts of friends, drink, and reading.”-
Kathryn Shively Meier, author of
Nature’s Civil War: Common Soldiers and the Environment in 1862 Virginia Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Preface
- 1. Prelude to Soldiering
- 2. Stumbling in the Shadows of Giants
- 3. Before Dixie
- 4. A True Virginian
- 5. Prelude to War
- 6. The Civil War Diary of William Ellis Jones, of Richmond, Virginia
- Part 1 – First Muster at Richmond
- Part 2 – The Peninsula Campaign | May 24 through July 28, 1862
- Part 3 – March to Join Jackson and on to Second Manassas | July 29 through September 1, 1862
- Part 4 – On to Maryland, Harpers Ferry, and Antietam | September 2 through September 20, 1862
- Part 5 – Meandering Toward Fredericksburg | September 21 through December 14, 1862
- Part 6 – March to Winter Quarters | December 15 through December 31, 1862.
- 7. A Strange and Severe Life
- 8. The Spirits of Bad Men Made Perfect
- Appendix
- Additional Online Appendixes
- Endnotes
- Bibliography
- Index
