The true story of John Tyler Webster and his adventures as a Confederate Courier (1861-1867). Told in his own words from his diaries.

This Civil War diary was kept by Captain John W. Tuttle from 1860-1867. Tuttle was a Captain in the 3rd Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, Company H. The diary, missing its first page, begins on June 1, 1860 with Tuttle's description of life just prior to the War's start. He then proceeds to describe the local sentiment and political activities after the fall of Fort Sumter and his own subsequent enlistment. Tuttle saw action at Perryville, Ky., and was sidelined in 1863 at Chattanooga due to a non- battle induced broken leg. The descriptions here are from a non-combatants perspective, but by November 1863 he was back on the line at Missionary Ridge, Tennessee. The diary's descriptions continue through 1867 giving insightful accounts of military and civilian life. The Kentucky Historical Society library has a transcribed copy of the diary (Dewy number 92 T967) and a copy of the Union, The Civil War, and John W. Tuttle (1980: The Kentucky Historical Society), edited by Hambleton Tapp and James C. Klotter (Dewy number 95 T967d), in its collection.

“Far surpasses anything anyone else has ever done about this pivotal engagement.” —The Journal of America’s Military Past Chickamauga, according to soldier rumor, is a Cherokee word meaning “River of Death.” It certainly lived up to that grim sobriquet in September 1863 when the Union Army of the Cumberland and Confederate Army of Tennessee waged bloody combat along the banks of West Chickamauga Creek. Here, award-winning author David Powell embraces a fresh approach that explores Chickamauga as a three-day battle, rather than the two-day affair it has long been considered, with September 18 being key to understanding how the fighting developed the next morning. The second largest battle of the Civil War produced 35,000 casualties and one of the last clear-cut Confederate tactical victories—a triumph that for a short time reversed a series of Rebel defeats and reinvigorated the hope for Southern independence. At issue was Chattanooga, the important “gateway to the South” and logistical springboard into Georgia. Despite its size, importance, and fascinating cast of characters, this epic Western Theater battle has received but scant attention. Powell masterfully rectifies this oversight with the first of three installments spanning the entire campaign. This volume includes the Tullahoma Campaign in June, which set the stage for Chickamauga, and continues through the second day of fighting on September 19. Powell’s magnificent study fully explores the battle from all perspectives and is based upon fifteen years of intensive research that has uncovered nearly 2,000 primary sources from generals to privates, all stitched together to relate the remarkable story that was Chickamauga. Includes illustrations