Forgotten for more than a century in an old cardboard box, these
are the letters of Guy Carlton Taylor, a farmer who served in the
Thirty-Sixth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the American
Civil War. From March 23, 1864, to July 14, 1865, Taylor wrote 165
letters home to his wife Sarah and their son Charley. From the
initial mustering and training of his regiment at Camp Randall in
Wisconsin, through the siege of Petersburg in Virginia, General
Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and the postwar Grand Review of the
Armies parade in Washington, D.C., Taylor conveys in vivid detail
his own experiences and emotions and shows himself a keen observer
of all that is passing around him. While at war, he contracts
measles, pneumonia, and malaria, and he writes about the hospitals,
treatments, and sanitary conditions that he and his comrades
endured during the war. Amidst the descriptions of soldiering,
Taylor's letters to Sarah are threaded with the concerns of a young
married couple separated by war but still coping together with
childrearing and financial matters. The letters show, too, Taylor's
transformation from a lonely and somewhat disgruntled infantryman
to a thoughtful commentator on the greater ideals of the war. This
remarkable trove of letters, which had been left in the attic of
Taylor's former home in Cashton, Wisconsin, was discovered by local
historian Kevin Alderson at a household auction. Recognising them
for the treasure they are, Alderson bought the letters and, aided
by his wife Patsy, painstakingly transcribed the letters and
researched Taylor's story in Wisconsin and at historical sites of
the Civil War. The Aldersons' preface and notes are augmented by an
introduction by Civil War historian Kathryn Shively Meier, and the
book includes photographs, maps, and illustrations related to Guy
Taylor's life and letters.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
