John Davis Billings (1842–1933)

I was a little disappointed in the fact that this wasn't an actual true first account, and personal stories, of the author, himself. It was more of a "general" account of the war with a touch of his personal experiences. I also found it a little hard to read as he writes in that early American style.

That being said, I did learn some things that, before, I never would have even thought about, such as how the officer's had to deal with the many different personalities, and the dead beats, in show more camp, or dealing with the enormous wagon trains when they met head on in those narrow dirt roads, building pontoon bridges to cross the many creeks, streams and rivers, flag signaling in a kind of morse code from hilltop to hilltop, etc...

It appears that the Union Army were well taken care of compared to the Rebels who had seceded from the union and, I gather, had no government support. After all, that was the first reason the war began...to force them back into the union, then to deal with the issue of slavery. show less

An account of day-to-day life in the Army of the Potomac. There’s nothing about combat here – it’s enlistment, tent life, marching, rations, hazing new recruits, drill, foraging – not a shot is fired. That, of course, is what army life has been about since Sargon of Akkad – long periods of boring routine punctuated by rare occasions of terror. The author was an officer in a Massachusetts artillery regiment but covers the infantry and cavalry as well.

Written in 1887, Hardtack and show more Coffee is not politically correct; blacks are “colored” or worse and are usually seen as “contrabands” or in other noncombat roles (although there is a mention of the Ninth US Colored Infantry as train guards). The reader is expected to be aware of the basics of Civil War history and know what (for example) “the Peninsula Campaign” and “the Mud March” are without further explanation. My copy was scanned and turned to OCR text but without further proofreading; thus there are numerous OCR errors – “rebel lion” for “rebellion”, “corn mission” for “commission” and “Army mill” for “Army mule” are some of the more egregious examples. There are a few unintelligible sentences as a result. The original had a color plate section, which is not included in the edition; it’s mentioned in the text but seems to have been mostly US Army corps patches rather than battle or camp scenes. No notes or index. Interesting enough, possibly useful for reenactors. For more on US Army life in the 19th Century, see Forty Miles a Day on Beans and Hay. show less

Entertaining look at Civil War soldiering from the enlisted perspective. Entertaining and well written. It was assembled years after the war and lacks the urgency of a contemporary journal. The author was in the artillery and provides excellent insights into that life. Enjoyable read.

An excellent overview of just about every aspect of the war from the enlisted man's point of view, from recruitment, to life in winter camp, to picket duty, to drawing pay and clothing, to foraging, to burying men and horses and digging latrines. John Billings gives a very thorough account, elucidated with fascinating anecdotes of his own history as an Massachusetts artilleryman in the war.