Charlotte's Boys: Civil War Letters of the Branch Family of Savannah [Hardcover]

Mauriel Phillips Joslyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

Each of the Branch sons experienced war in a different way, and their letters, augmented by secondary correspondents, offer insight into life as Confederate soldiers as well as the effects of the Civil War on the civilian population of Savannah, Georgia. 20 b&w illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

"Their actions gave them substance, and their soft Savannah accents whispered from the pages. What I heard is as much a tribute to a mother's devotion and faith as it is to the courage and sacrifice of her soldier sons." --Mauriel Phillips Joslyn, on the Branch family letters Charlotte Branch, a widow of Savannah, Georgia, raised three sons to become servants of the Confederate cause. John, Sanford, and Hamilton Branch enlisted in Savannah's Oglethorpe Light Infantry, and their fate--along with the fate of many of their fellow soldiers--is revealed in this vast collection of letters from 1861 through 1866. Augmented by secondary correspondences from family and friends, the letters of Charlotte Branch and her sons depict the trauma endured by Savannah herself, offering a candid look at military and civilian struggles during the Civil War. One of the most complete compilations of Civil War correspondence to appear in print, Charlotte's Boys reveals the profoundly varied impact of war on individual soldiers and their families. John Branch, the eldest of the three sons, was one of the South's most promising officers before he fell at First Manassas and died in the arms of his brothers. Sanford, the second son, was captured and suffered as one of the Immortal Six Hundred before his release in 1864. Hamilton, the youngest, was wounded three times, participated in the battle of Atlanta and the Tennessee campaign, and remained in service until the South's surrender. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Mauriel Phillips Joslyn lives in Athens, Georgia, where she lectures and gives presentations on military history while dressed in full Confederate costume. Her work has been published in the Gettysburg Magazine and Military Heritage. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 374 pages
• Publisher: Rockbridge Pub Co; 1st edition (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883522129
• ISBN-13: 978-1883522124
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,067,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mauriel Phillips Joslyn was born in Manchester, Georgia. She received her B.A in History from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Va. and M.A from Georgia College and State University, and is an adjunct professor at Georgia Military College. Mauriel has been a history buff all her life, and combined that passion with writing and reenacting the periods of American Civil War, World War I and World War II. Author of several non-fiction books on Confederate history, she has lately turned her attention to films (My Christmas Soldier) and novels set in the period of World War II. She has contributed to encyclopedias, and noted magazines such as America's Civil War, North and South Magazine, Cross and Cockade International Journal and Military Heritage. She received Author of the Year in 1998 for A Meteor Shining Brightly. "Check out my Facebook page for more about my interests and being my friend."