Customer Reviews

A Hard Trip: A History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, CSA

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4 star:		(2)
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Ben Wynne's book provides the reality of the moment in 1860-61 Mississippi. The thoughts of the men who formed the 15th Mississippi are front and center. The feelings of the communities of the righteousness of the effort are there too. The ceremonies to present flags to the different units by their communities take you to ground level. Wynne takes you on a day to day journey of the regiment until you feel at home and then he turns to you and whispers, "The Hornet's Nest", and you understand that you've just strolled into the one bloodiest days of the war. You're at Shiloh and just been ordered to charge the Union lines. The glamour fades quickly. Men continue out of honor. 1,000 men are cut to less than 100 during the course of the war. Ordinary soldiers explain the pain of burying their boys --- "Comrades in Arms, Comrades in Death" --- on a moonlit night outside Atlanta. In Franklin, Tennessee you see them marching barefoot in the snow. My great grand uncle was there, captured and taken to Point Look Out in Maryland. Wynne gives you a glimpse of what he saw and thought. An outstanding book.

First of all, the book is aptly titled. For the men of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, their journey through the war was indeed "A Hard Trip." The personal stories (and tragedies) that are told through the diaries and letters of the soldiers are by far the most endearing feature of this book. While many histories are based on these types of documents, it is the way author, Ben Wynne, places them in his narrative that makes this book unique. In addition to the material on the war years, there is also a lot of good background about the communities the men came from and the reasons they joined the army. I have never read a Civil War book quite like this. It was really fascinating and I highly recommend it. The book is very well written and I learned a lot more about the history of the state in which I live.

This book is one of the best Civil War books that I have read and by far the best Confederate regimental history. Anyone interested in the thoughts, fears and daily activities of the common Confederate soldier will enjoy this book. This regiment was very active in the Western theater, so the work
also contains treatments of major battles and campaigns in the West (Shiloh, Vicksburg, Atlanta and others). For me the chapter on the Battle of Franklin alone is worth the price of the book. Also, the chapter on what happened to the men after the war was quite interesting. This book is well written and a
good read. I recommend it highly to anyone with Civil War interests.

Ben Wynne's book provides the reality of the moment in 1860 -61 Mississippi. The thoughts of the men who formed the 15th Mississippi are front and center. The feelings of the communities of the righteous of the effort are there too. The ceremonies to present flags to the different units by their communities take you to ground level. Wynne takes you on a day to day journey of the regiment until you feel at home and then he turns to you and whispers, "The Hornet's Nest", and you understand that you've just strolled into the one bloodiest days of the war. You're at Shiloh and just been ordered to charge the Union lines. The glamour fades quickly. Men continue out of honor. A 1,000 men are cut to less than 100 during the course of the war. Ordinary soldiers explain the pain of burying their boys --- "Comrades in Arms, Comrades in Death" --- on a moonlit night outside Atlanta. In Franklin, Tennessee you see them marching barefoot in the snow. My great grand uncle was there, captured and taken to Point Look Out in Maryland. Wynne gives you a glimpse of what he saw and thought. An outstanding book.

I just finished this book while flying on a business trip. My great great grand-father, Benjamin Franklin Golding was a private in Co. K of the MS 15th (Choctaw Grays) and being able to retrace his footsteps in such detail was really awesome for me. Time lines in the book corresponded exactly with his muster rolls from the MS Dept. of Archives which allowed me to know that he had been present at Champion's Hill, Shiloh, and Vicksburg, to name a few. Not written from a purely historical perspective, I was able to understand the feelings and emotions he and the other soldiers in the 15th felt as the war progressed. I thought this book was really well written, entertaining, and I enjoyed reading it very much.

My Great Grandfather was in the 15th. Written with a lot of insight and a factual account.
I wish there were more pictures and a roster for the companies that made up the 15th.

I think this is a wonderful book. While it might be a cliche, I "felt like I was there" much of the time while I was reading. It is obvious that a lot of research went into this book, and the book is written in a very engaging style. The author is a fantastic story teller, and that is definitely part of the book's charm. I felt like I actually got to know the men in the
regiment as I read about what happened to them during the four year struggle. To make a long story short, I love reading about the Civil War and I loved reading this book.

The author does a very good job telling the story of these Confederate
soldiers. Although the battles are discussed in some detail, I liked the
book because I didn't get bogged down in the minutia of the battlefield. The
story is more about the men than the battles, which is what makes it
interesting.

Wynne tells the story of the men who served in the 15th Mississippi in their own words, couched in a profound explanation of the social and economic forces of the times. I was profoundly moved as I read of their homesickness, their loneliness, their fears, their exultation, and their intense connection to home, family, and community. This is a challenging and engaging read that I couldn't put down.