Cush: A Civil War Journal [Hardcover]

Samuel Sprott (Author), Andrew Quist (Editor), Louis Smith (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1999

Cush was a mixture of corn meal, water, and bacon grease cooked over an open fire by confederate soldiers. That the editors have taken this title for the book indicates the emotional impact of Sprott's Civil War Memoirs. Not only do we march and eat this mixture with Sprott, but we witness with him the first execution of confederate deserters, the bewilderment and frustration of battling infantrymen with what they considered the inane orders from above, the bravery-and the foolhardiness-that war inevitably brings. This memoir follows the Sumter regiment from its first training sessions to its duty in Mobile near the war's end.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This is a war memoir that moves humans to the front lines, rather than battles and strategies. It is a memoir written thirty years after the fact with all the humor, irony, and pathos that one would expect sush a removal to bring. Being aware that three decades would also bring lapses of memory, Sprott enlisted the aid of fellow veterns, who regularly sent emendations to his weekly writings in the local newspaper. The collation and publication of this journal one hundred years later is not only a boon to American Civil War buffs, it is a boon to all Americans as an aid to understanding our own past.

About the Author

Samuel H. Sprott was born on June 24, 1840, in Sumter County Alabama. Sprott attended local schools and compleated his education at Barton Academy in Mobile. In the Spring of 1862 Samuel Sprott joined the South Sumter Guards. Sprott enlisted as a private but was quickly elevated to rank of 3rd sergeant by his fellow soldiers. The following year Sprott was promoted to Lieutenant. When he surrenered in Salisbury, North Carolina in May 1865, Sprott had attained the rank of Captain of Company A 40th Alabama Regiment.

After the war, Sprott taught school and studied law. In 1867 he was admitted to the bar and began a practice in Livingston, Alabama. In 1968 Sprott married Leonora Brockway of Gaston, Alabama. They had six children, two sons and four daughters. On April 12, 1916, Samuel Sprott died in Jasper, Alabama, at the home of his eldeset daughter, Mrs. Augusta Belle Long.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Livingston Press (AL); 1st edition (June 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942979567
• ISBN-13: 978-0942979565
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,751,368 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 It will make you laugh and cry..., May 10, 2000

By 

Thomas H. Mcknight III "Old Hippie in Corpora... (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cush: A Civil War Journal (Hardcover)

"Cush: A Civil War Journal" is a great book from the point of view of a "run of the mill" Alabama infantry soldier. That is, the grunt who did most of the work and most of the dying.

Samuel Sprott was under 90 days of constant bombardment from Sherman's forces during the Atlanta campaign. It becomes so common that when he encounters a General of a Texas regiment whom he had met during the siege of Vicksburg, he casually and calmly sits down to breakfast with bullets wizzing by and artillery exploding around the two of them.

I cried when I read of their charge over an open field against the breastworks of the entrenched Union soldiers. They marched over the first hundred yards, dropped down taking a rest, and then jumped up and charged the rest of the way. People dying left and right. Brave or crazy these men were... but it made me cry.

I laughed when Sprott got caught out on a picket line when the Yankees charged. He relates the Yankee telling him to stop but he turned and ran for his life determining better to die than be captured. The Yankee got off shot after shot as Sprott zigged and zagged trying not to be shot. When you read it, you will see the humor.

I was struck by his observations of women in South Carolina versus the women in North Carolina. I was also struck by how little he says when his older brother is mortally wounded.

If you enjoy reading real history of the Civil War, you will love this book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reflecting Rebel Soldier, August 17, 2002

By 

Scott Bell (Jacksonville, Texas) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Cush: A Civil War Journal (Hardcover)

If you want to learn about history it is best to read the reflections, diaries and memoirs of those who lived it. Samuel H. Sprott, 40th Alabama Infantry, Army of Tennessee, wrote his memoir 34 years after the War Between The States for a now defunct southern newspaper. This memoir was recently discovered tucked away in county probate records and probably not studied by historians for details about the W.B.T.S. in the deep South.
Sprott, tells the story of the 40th Alabama Infantry, Stone's Battalion and Ector's Brigade. I was especially interested in information about General Ector and his brigade as little is written about this unit especially at the battle of Chickamauga. He will educate you about the everyday life of the Confederate soldier in the Army of Tennessee. His and fellow comrade's trials and jubilations are all there.
The editors do a fine job coordinating Sprott's manuscript, filling in his thoughts and corroborating historical evidence.
Highly Recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars Cush - A Review, August 9, 2000

By 

Cary Nerelli (San Luis Obispo, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cush: A Civil War Memoir (Paperback)

Any Civil War buff will find Dr. Louis Smith's "Cush" to be an outstanding addition to his/her personal library. It is an account that brings countless historical facts that will enrich that library in terms of the military engagements fought by Samuel Sprott and his men. But there is more to this work than the simple regurgitation of historical fact -- this is a book that reflects the struggles and privations of the everyday Civil War soldier as he endured the reality of his world: rotten weather, whizzing minnie balls, the deaths of his comrades. "Cush" is a look at the humanity behind the facts. It puts the reader in the Civil War -- fighting next to Sprott and his compatriots.

As a high school US History teacher, I have found that it is books such as "Cush" that makes history come alive to students. They can feel the emotion with which Sprott's story is told. And, because it is a primary source - straight from the "horse's mouth", it has much more credibility to it than the facts they can glean from their text books.

Dr. Smith has done a marvelous job of editing Sprott's papers. The work was no doubt tedious but at the same time must have been intensely rewarding when it was finished. After reading the book, I have come to feel like I knew Samuel Sprott on a personal basis!