“I Rode With Stonewall.” A true memoir of Henry Kyd Douglas, who was a young college student who became the adjutant to Gen. Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson early in the war. Fascinating. He survived the war and became a Senator from Maryland.
Absolutely fascinating. Highly recommended as it brings to life classic histories like Shelby Foote, etc.
Oldplayer
Cushing, OK
I agree, that’s a very vivid book. However, I think it’s useful, from our perspective, to balance contemporaneous memoirs such as Mr. Douglas’s with the most recent objective scholarship. You can get the on-the-spot color, but also get the best effort at objective factuality.
I’ve used this procedure in studying lots of different historical events: the Boer War, for example, and the Indian Mutiny.