Burning Rails as We Pleased: The Civil War Letters of William Garrigues Bentley, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry [Hardcover]

William Garrigues Bentley (Author), Barbara Bentley Smith (Author), Nina Bentley Baker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004 | ISBN-10: 0786416599 | ISBN-13: 978-0786416592

William Garrigues Bentley chose to leave the safety of home and family at age 19 and march off to preserve the Union. He enlisted in the 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company G, in 1862 and served for three long years before being honorably discharged. His firsthand account details his day-to-day life as a soldier, the long marches around Kentucky, skirmishes with the Rebs, joining with Sherman’s army in the Atlanta campaign, then chasing Hood into Tennessee and fighting in the bloody battle at Franklin, and on to rejoin Sherman in the winter of 1865 for the final months of the Carolina campaign.

The discovery of new letters and documents about the Civil War is uncommon today. This book—compiled from a collection of 142 letters—not only is an important historical record but also offers an insight into the political thoughts and feelings of the time. Bentley participated in 13 of the notable battles of the war. The book includes a complete roster of the 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a labor of love" --The Civil War News

"this volume provides an unparalleled first-person look into the heart and mind of the average western soldier" --Military Images

"well-written...include[s] a roster of the entire 104th Ohio, which will be of interest to researchers and descendants...Bentley's letters are a good read. Bentley, who enlisted at age nineteen, was extremely observant and a very good writer...should appeal to anyone interested in the Army of the Ohio, the 104th Ohio Volunteers, and the life of the common Federal soldier in the Western theatre" --North & South --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Barbara Bentley Smith and Nina Bentley Baker are William Garrigues Bentley’s great-granddaughters. They both live in North Carolina.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: McFarland & Company (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786416599
• ISBN-13: 978-0786416592
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,894,485 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Travel, February 4, 2004

By 

Angie Durham (Cary, NC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burning Rails as We Pleased: The Civil War Letters of William Garrigues Bentley, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Hardcover)

I've always enjoyed fictional time travel books. These letters written by a young Quaker man willing to sacrifice & go to war (in my opinion) for "duty, honor, & country" transported me back in time. I enjoyed the beauty of the language with the thee's & thou's of the Quaker custom & the precise details of the battles that could have been written by a war correspondent.
It also engendered lively discussions between my husband (from Mississippi, whose grandmother was a Lee,as in Robert E.) & myself (from Ohio) on the philosophies of the soldiers on both sides of the "Civil War".
Reading these letters has inspired me to be more diligent in corresponding with my own loved ones near & far. Today we are blessed with e-mail. In 1864 it was letters.
His love for his family, especially his mother, comes through as he keeps writing so they will know he is still alive. It's funny how his tone changes when he writes to his "bro". More like guys describing a football game!
I look forward to reading more collections of letters.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great soldier's story, March 28, 2005

By 

Darl L. Stephenson (Manassas, vA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Burning Rails as We Pleased: The Civil War Letters of William Garrigues Bentley, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (Hardcover)

Rarely do we get something truly new in Civil War literature. Too often we get rehashed accounts of great battles such as Gettysburg or biographies of Lee, Jackson etc. "Burning Rails as we Pleased" provides a great first hand account of the Civil War in the Western Theater. It is rare to get these. William Garrigues Bentley provides a great account of soldier life. This book is based on about 140 letters he wrote home. But Bentley also provides astute observations on the strategy and tactics of the North and the political situation at the time. Like most Union men he was for Lincoln and when he was with Sherman's army there is no doubt that the men loved him. They knew he would not waste their lives in vain. This is perhaps one of the best accounts of soldier life since John D. Billings "Hardtack and Coffee." That book was written well after the Civil War. These accounts were written at the time. The time and effort of Barbara Bentley Smith and Nina Bentley Baker have provided us a great insight into the life of a soldier in the Union army.

Darl L. Stephenson, author, Headquarters in the Brush: Blazer's Independent Union Scouts, 2001, Ohio University Press