Customer Reviews

The Civil War Diary of a Common Soldier: William Wiley of the 77th Illinois Infantry

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I always have trouble being critical of someone's diary. I ask myself, "How can I rank a diary?". I decided to rank this diary in comparison to other diaries I have read and decided it was worth three stars instead of five. Wiley's writing is at times quite brief, spelling, grammar, punctuation and detail fall short in comparison to other soldier accounts. Though valuable in understanding soldier thought and lifestyle, Wiley's descriptions are vague, hard to follow and at times the book feels sluggish. Author Terrence Winschel does help out Wiley's writing by prepping the reader for various chapters and the references sometimes to clear up some confusion as to time, place or subject matter. Wiley's diary follows him from his muster into service for the 77th Illinois until his final discharge 3 years later in 1865. Wiley suffers from health problems through out the book and misses some battles, is involved in skirmishes, the Vicksburg Campaign and many other campaigns through out Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee. His battle descriptions are quite vague and some of the soldier living details I was hoping to read about where not present. Overall, I have read better books on the subject although I have to treasure the opportunity to be able to read the book as it does capture the soldier life at times and brings more life to understanding bits and pieces of soldering in the western theatre.