'Him on the One Side and Me on the Other' : The Civil War Letters of Alexander Campbell, 79th New York Infantry Regiment, and James Campbell, 1st South Carolina Battalion [Hardcover]

Terry A. Johnston (Author), James Campbell (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 190 pages
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press; First Edition edition (May 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570032653
• ISBN-13: 978-1570032653
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,732 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book for Scholars of the Individual Soldier, December 19, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 'Him on the One Side and Me on the Other' : The Civil War Letters of Alexander Campbell, 79th New York Infantry Regiment, and James Campbell, 1st South Carolina Battalion (Hardcover)

If you are looking for epic narrative, or soaring flights of Victorian prose, this collection of Civil War letters will not be of interest to you. But if a reader wants to hear a voice from the trenches, to see behind the grand sweep of war to the every day concerns of common soldiers, this book is a treasure. In the blunt, unadorned language of the ordinary man, these letters address the timeless issues of worry about family at home, boredom, frustration, army politics, and longing for hometown news. Mr. Johnston does an excellent job of footnoting events mentioned in the letters, and laying out in consice terms the greater happenings of the army, beyond the letters' scope. He also accomplishes the amazing task of identifying virtually every person named in those letters.

At times I did find the on-page footnoting distracting to the main text. However, upon reflection, I will conceed that to put the footnotes in some distant lump at chapter or book's end would not be as effective. I would have perhaps liked to see just a few more photographs, such as of one or two of the original letters. Yet I realize the scarcity of such photos as Mr. Johnston so fortunately located, and the reader is gratified to have at least the faces of these soldiers to look at.

One should keep in mind the Campbell brothers' Scottish origins, while reading these letters, and look beyond the typical Scots reticence for flowery emotion. Between the lines lies the real story, worry for a wife and young family at home, with little money and no husband/father. Understated poignancy lies in the expressions of concern for the brother under that opposing flag, the search of a shared battlefield, and questioning of prisoners, each brother after the other's welfare. And most notable is the reader's realization that, although they effectively sought to kill each other in the name of duty to country, the resumption of their fraternal relationship is as uneventful as though they had but played on opposing baseball teams.

Family is the strongest thread throughout all these letters, husband, wife, children, brothers and brothers-in-law, whose ties of love are tested but not broken by the conflict that tore a nation apart. Therein lies the lesson of that war; that the nation's divisions would be healed not by politics, but by and in the hearts of individuals.
As a reader of a good many Civil War books, I will say this. For the student of the inside of this war, particularly the words of the men who fought it, this book will find an honorable place on your book shelf.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book is real history and not "exciting" fiction, December 11, 1999

By 

William A. Beard III (East Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 'Him on the One Side and Me on the Other' : The Civil War Letters of Alexander Campbell, 79th New York Infantry Regiment, and James Campbell, 1st South Carolina Battalion (Hardcover)

As the elected historian for the 79th New York National Regiment, I highly recommend this book. Real historical works are not embellished to please the common masses, like some folks obviously want. No one can read Dyer's Compendium and think it is an exciting book, and the Official Records are not for those who are just used to junk books and who are looking for a good "bed-time" story. Terry Johnston's book takes the letters of the two Campbell brothers regardless of their content, and he presents them as is. He gives us an insight to the everyday wants and the lives of the two men. The letter that James sends his brother Alexander through the lines after their regiments met at Secessionville, South Carolina, speaks volumes about how soldiers felt about duty in the Civil War. Mr. Johnston's footnotes are well-researched and highly informative. The layout flows and is well done, but what do you expect from a university press, which are notorious for their very high standards. The 79th New York has suffered a lot of insults with the recent printing of a very atrocious book, but Mr. Johnston's book honors the men of the 79th and he tells the truth about the soldiers using their own words. I did not find the book to be dull or boring, but to be interesting and full of insight. This book will last as a reference work long after the mass market books have faded into oblivion. If you are a real historian and know good books you'll like this work.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Would like to give it 3 1/2 stars, but who's counting?, December 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: 'Him on the One Side and Me on the Other' : The Civil War Letters of Alexander Campbell, 79th New York Infantry Regiment, and James Campbell, 1st South Carolina Battalion (Hardcover)

Previous reviewers seem to think this book was either spectacular or terrible. It's neither. This is a decent book of edited letters. Let me explain its main strengths and weaknesses as I see them. Strengths: (1) Interesting story of brother vs. brother. You always hear of the Civil War as the brothers war--I know I've heard of several high-profile examples of relatives on opposite sides. But these letters acually illuminate an example among common soldiers. They (the Campbell brothers) were Scottish immigrants who settled in North and South. They actually fought against each other at Secesionville in South Carolina. I found their personal story both interesting and (at times) moving. (2) footnotes. There are many useful and insightful footnotes throughout the book. I suppose folks find these types of informative footnotes either helpful or distracting. I myself liked the fact that people, places and things mentioned in the letters were identified. Weaknesses: (1) Lack of battle content. Other than letters on First Manassas (which is good) and some on action in South Carolina, there is little written in detail about fighting. (2) Language of the letters. These brothers obviously weren't very educated. Their spelling is terrible and writing is choppy. The editor has left it as is. I can understand why--keeping alive the flavor of the letters--but it doesn't make them easier to read. I can see folks being put off by this. In sum, this is not a Civil War classic--not even close. But it certainly isn't the worst Civil War book out there, as another reviewer stated. I found it generally good. Again, I would liked to have seen more military content, and of course even more on the brother vs. brother theme, but overall I enjoyed it. Because of this, I rounded my 3 1/2 stars up to 4.