NEW BOOK REVIEW OF HIRAM'S HONOR ON EMERGING CIVIL WAR BLOG

Monument of three comrades at Andersonville National Historic Site. Meg Thompson's well-done book review of Hiram's Honor  for the Emerging Civil War website adeptly highlights the spirit and value of friendship in this incredible story of survival. 

  

Civil War Pension Files from the National Archives

I ordered my Civil War ancestor's pension files from the National Archives and received 125 pages of information like the above documents.  Private Terman was a walking skeleton when he came back from 17 months of prison life at Belle Island, Andersonville, Savannah, and Millen.  Incredibly, he waited until 1897 to apply for a pension that he received until his death in 1926.  His Civil War service gave him heart problems, rheumatism, stomach, and bowel problems his entire life and he also suffered from what we now call Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome.  I am researching these files in hopes of writing a sequel to Hiram's Honor about his and his comrades post Civil War lives.

NEW BOOK REVIEW OF HIRAM'S HONOR EBOOK ON SALIENT POINTS CIVIL WAR BLOG

Allen's review says Hiram's Honor gives you the view of a common soldier.

A new review of Hiram's Honor, (Ebook version)  by Allen Mesch appears here.  Allen Mesch is a author, educator, and historian. He is a Civil War historian and has visited more than 81 battlefields and museums and taken over 3,700 photographs. Allen teaches classes on the American Civil War at Collin College. He is a 40 year veteran of the oil and gas industry and provides consulting and training services. Allen is a fan of political thrillers and author of The Analyst.  

Thanks Allen for your professional review (from a pdf file) that hits the "Salient Points" of my book--well done. 

Civil War Pension file Youtube

Civil War pension files contain very useful information.  For an example of how a file looks see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFRlBEjKG7Y

The Civil War Veteran by Larry Logue and Michael Barton

I am reading The Civil War Veteran: A Historical Reader edited by Larry M. Logue and Michael Barton which gives an insightful overview of what it was like for Civil War veterans after the shooting stopped and regular living began.  Difficult enough for regular soldiers, what must it have been like for prisoners of war from Andersonville?

Hiram's Honor Sample Chapters on Cleveland CWRTweb site

Sample chapters on Andersonville and Gettysburg from Hiram's Honor are on the Cleveland Civil War Round Table website (click here).

Sing Not War

I am now reading Sing Not War by James Marten which describes the post-war experiences of Civil War veterans.  It was interesting to discover the controversies surrounding pensions and soldier's homes in the period 1865-1910.  Many Civil War veterans (both Union and Confederate) experienced difficult times socially and economically after the war, especially the disabled.   Others  adapted to the "men--help yourself up" attitudes and industrialization of the Gilded Age.  Most Civil War memoirs and other writings did not come out or become popular until the 1880's.  It was as if thoughts on the Civil War were not popular early on and then became interesting after a decade or two.