The 124th New York State Volunteers were one of the great fighting regiments of the Civil War. The author has used letters, diary entries, and remembrances, much of it previously unpublished, to offer the reader a view of the war as the men in the ranks saw it. At Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Petersburg, and many more battles, the ""Orange Blossoms"" earned a reputation for sacrifice and bravery--eloquently put into words by Private Henry Howell: As he lay wounded, he described the charge that broke the Confederate line at Spotsylvania--""everyone was borne irresistibly forward. There was no such thing as fail."" The book has a roster of all who served in the regiment and numerous photos of individuals.