"We Have It Damn Hard Out Here": The Civil War Letters of Sergeant Thomas W. Smith, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry [Hardcover]

Thomas W. Smith (Author), Eric J. Wittenberg (Author, Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999

Told in his own words, this is the story of Sgt. Thomas W. Smith's service in the Civil War--the greatest adventure of his life. It is also the story of his regiment, the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, known as Rush's Lancers, named both for the distinctive wooden lances they carried for the first two years of the war and for their first commanding officer, Col. Richard H. Rush.

These letters provide rare insight into the workings and daily life of a noncommissioned officer. They are filled with humor and humanity and demonstrate the hardships withstood by the common soldier of the Civil War. The added narrative and annotations assist the reader in identifying the persons and events described and in placing them in the proper historical perspective and context.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 175 pages
• Publisher: Kent State Univ Pr (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087338623X
• ISBN-13: 978-0873386234
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,636 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 This book was really a good read..., October 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: "We Have It Damn Hard Out Here": The Civil War Letters of Sergeant Thomas W. Smith, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry (Hardcover)

I am as impressed with Mr. Wittenberg's command of words as I am with the letters he annotates in this book. Sgt. Smith was a prolific writer, who at times may have left out a few details, but Mr. Wittenberg did a great job of filling those details in. For those who want to know what soldiers were really like during the Civil War, this is a good place to start!

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Letters, Great Commentary, January 5, 2000

By 

Nicholas Fry (Monrovia, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: "We Have It Damn Hard Out Here": The Civil War Letters of Sergeant Thomas W. Smith, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry (Hardcover)

Those who've had experience with using civil war letters for research are painfully aware that it's usually a hit and miss affiar. The letters in this book have varying amounts of substance, just like most letters I've used for my research in college. The easiest explination for this is the monotony of life for a civil war soldier between the battles. However, Eric Wittenberg more than makes up for the understandable lack of action in some letters (hey, armies don't fight all the time) with his excellent commentary. This is the third work of Mr. Wittenberg's that I've read and once again I'm impressed by his grasp of the material and by his fortune of finding these wonderful letters. This book is a truly valuable source for all civil war cavalry researchers.

3 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Little bang for your buck, December 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: "We Have It Damn Hard Out Here": The Civil War Letters of Sergeant Thomas W. Smith, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry (Hardcover)

I expected more for my $35. This is a rather short book in which we hear at least as much from the editor as we do from Sgt. Smith. The reason for this is that many of the roughly 70 letters in the book are brief and lack much substance.