Diaries by Kentucky Rebels are a rarity; the soldiers, cut off from their homes and families in the Union Bluegrass, were themselves atypical. In this massive and eloquent journal, Captain Edward O. Guerrant evocatively portrays his unusual wartime experiences attached to the headquarters of Confederate generals Humphrey Marshall, William Preston, George Cosby, and, most notably, John Hunt Morgan. Able to see the inner workings of campaigns in the little-known Appalachian region of eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and east Tennessee, where some of the most vicious small-scale fighting occurred, Guerrant made scrupulous daily entries remarking upon virtually everything around him.
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Book Description
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About the Author
William C. Davis, director of programs for the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and a professor of history at Virginia Tech University, is the author of numerous books about the Civil War, including Look Away: A History of the Confederate States of America.
Meredith L. Swentor lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Bluegrass Confederate,
By A Customer
This review is from: Bluegrass Confederate: The Headquarters Diary of Edward O. Guerrant (Hardcover)
Though not devoid of some human interest value, this is not an especially useful source for the historian. Guerrant saw little action, and writes scantily about what he did see. I can't imagine that most of his sojourns in West Virginia and Kentucky will be of interest to most scholars; there is an account of the Battle of Saltville, but that's about it. Eloquent, not to say melodramatic, jeremiads on the weather make up a good deal of the text.On the other hand, Guerrant was the kind of diarist who thinks that posterity may read his diary someday, and he writes with verve and emotion -- multiple exclamation points, parenthetical clever remarks, and so on. After hundreds of pages -- for a Civil War diary this is exceedingly long -- that gets old, but he undeniably has his moments.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: Bluegrass Confederate: The Headquarters Diary of Edward O. Guerrant (Paperback)
I currently have 15 books that I use in researching information about Morgan's Raiders. While this book touches on part of those events, it is hard to find a book that gives better description of the day to day boredom and survival of the Confederate forces in western Virginia and eastern Tennessee during that time. It also helps reinforce the unending confusion among the officers and the struggles of vanity that were taking place. There is MUCH information here that is missing from any of the other books.
I found Guerrant a likeable young man whose concerns for his appearance, young ladies and a good horse not so different than the standard concerns of young men today. At one point he commented that he had written a thought with the idea that no young woman would ever be reading it. I considered that this older woman was reading it, but then realized that he had died long before I was born. It really puts life cycles and our communications by writing into perspective. I am not a scholar, but have enjoyed this book tremendously. When it ended, I felt I had lost a friend. I often go back and read about his life afterwards that is in the introduction. I have been to his area of Kentucky to visit. There is a display about him, his father, son and grandson in the Bluegrass Heritage Museum in Winchester.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bluegrass Confederate,
This review is from: Bluegrass Confederate: The Headquarters Diary of Edward O. Guerrant (Paperback)
This is the best day to day reading of everyday life in the CSA stationed in SW Virgina by people from Kentucky. I have read and re-reading it and use it for a reference all the time. I cannot say that I have read any better book of the everyday life of a conman solider as well as with decisions made by generals. Great book.
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