This is a new release of the original 1947 edition.

Gunner in Lee's Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter

A history of the Confederate troops under Robert E. Lee presents portraits of soldiers from all walks of life, offers insight into how the Confederacy conducted key operations, and reveals how closely the South came to winning the war.

Never did so large a proportion of the American population leave home for an extended period and produce such a detailed record of its experiences in the form of correspondence, diaries, and other papers as during the Civil War. Based on research in more than 1,200 wartime letters and diaries by more than 400 Confederate officers and enlisted men, this book offers a compelling social history of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during its final year, from May 1864 to April 1865. Organized in a chronological framework, the book uses the words of the soldiers themselves to provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege--from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front, the debate over arming black men in the Confederacy, and the causes of Confederate defeat. Remarkably rich and detailed, Lee's Miserables offers a fresh look at one of the most-studied Civil War armies.

The 110 letters compiled in Lee's Adjutant shed light on day-to-day life at Lee's headquarters and on the general himself. Written to Taylor's fiancee and family, these letters recount the Army of Northern Virginia's early triumphs, invasions of the North, defeat at Gettysburg, the bloody struggle in the Wilderness, the siege of Petersburg, and final surrender. In them the young officer testifies to the simplicity of Lee's lifestyle as well as the gentility of his demeanor. He describes the bond that developed between himself and the general, and he discusses the furloughs, reports, dispatches, petitions, and grievances that he handled as Lee's alter ego in administrative matters.