Compilation of a ten part series, originally published in Cump and Company, May/June 1999 through Jan./Feb. 2001. The series follows John H. Abrahams and the 21st Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry from August, 1862 through the Civil War.

Winner of Milwaukee County Historical Society's coveted Gambrinus Prize for the best book-length contribution to Milwaukee historiography in 2003 Profiles the courageous 24th Wisconsin Infantry and features the personal stories of members of the 24th, including Arthur McArthur, the father of Gen. Douglas MacArthur Utilizes hundreds of primary sources--letters, diaries, and contemporary newspaper articles Formed in the summer of 1862, the 24th Wisconsin Infantry participated in many major battles of the Western theater, earning a reputation as a brave, hard-fighting unit. Unlike other unit histories, this book makes no attempt, as the author freely admits, to provide "an objective history" of the regiment. Rather, the book digs deeper, following the personal stories of the soldiers themselves, providing hundreds of individual vignettes that, taken together, paint a vivid picture of the life of a Union soldier.

It is believed that the author was a member of the 3rd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment which served during the U.S. Civil War.