Customer Reviews

'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

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Terry A. Johnston's book opens our eyes that the War between the States was anything but civil. The letters in this volume feature the plight of the Campbell brothers...on opposite sides of the conflict. Alexander Campbell's letters are especially important to our understanding of the war, because of their brutally honest portrayal of what the war did to a family caught up in the strife of the times....and more importantly how the war plagued the relationship between a husband and his wife. Johnston is meticulous in his editing....and provides the reader with very detailed notes to keep the story moving along....and easy to understand. This is an enlightening look into what the Civil War did to one particular family, and I highly recommend it to all who have interest in the war.

Letter collections often can be a catch-as-catch-can propostion. As you can see from the previous reviews, this particular collection has raised some eyebrows. I've already posted my feelings on this book and won't bore you with a restaging. But I would encourage everyone who reads these reviews to approach this book with an open mind. It seems some of the reviewers have different agendas at work for whatever reasons; the bile is a bit off-putting. Obviously, opinions can differ, but there really is no reason to sling insults.

This is an amazing, factual account of two Scottish immigrants who fought against each other in the American Civil War. The wartime letters of Alexander Campbell of the 79th NY 'Cameron Highlanders' and James Campbell of the 1st S.C. Batallion bring readers into the campaigns of 1st Bull Run, Secessionville (where the two brothers actually fought against each other), and Fredericksburg. Also, the harsh reality of being a Confederate prisoner of war is revealed by James Campbell as he serves hard time with other rebel inmates is illustrated in this significant work by Terry A. Johnston, Jr. A must read for civil war buffs and Scottish-Americans.

Harlan D. Whatley Director New York Caledonian Club

It's refreshing to learn what it was really like to live through the Civil War without the opinions and embellishments of authors clouding the facts.

A well-edited collection of the letters of two brothers who fought on opposite sides in the Civil War and very nearly met in combat on one of the battlefields. This book has received much good press in the Civil War publishing community with good reason: concise, informative, and dramatic, it's everything you would want in a book of this nature.

My title is chosen carefully - this is both a wonderful book and a "little" book. Most of those reviewing it who give it less than five stars are simply expecting too much of it, and part of the charm of the book is its simplicity and limited goals.

It is a book with limited goals and aims which collects the available bits of a fascinating story. "Him on One Side and Me on the Other" does not seek to draw any grand conclusions or deeper analysis from these bits, though it does try to fill out the bits and give us the parts of the story that can be filled in from other documents.

The two Campbell brothers represent a bit of America that transcends the Civil War - these are immigrant stories and stories about the growth of the country. But, most of all, they are simply stories. They leave us wanting to know much more about the brothers and their families, where they came from, and what they were doing. Beyond reading the footnotes, it really is helpful to read this together with more analytical histories of the time, both histories of the 79th (a fascinating regiment and story), of 19th Century America (especially its immigrants and industrialization) and, perhaps, though oddly less importantly, of the Civil War.

As an example of one fascinating place where this story and the broader historical moment come together, this book has some great detail on the transition of the military to a professional force. The 79th was a volunteer regiment, one where the men initially picked their own leaders, which made the regiment uniquely political. It also meant that the 79th really did have something of a mind of its own, interpreting orders rather than simply implementing them. In the letters from Alexander, you see some of the strains of this system on a rank and file infantry-man, one who is not apparently moving up through the political or military ranks, and this is one of those places where the stories interact very nicely with the history. There are, however, many others, and the book is highly recommended.

"Him on the One Side and Me on the Other" tells one of those stories that sounds like fiction. The Campbell brothers emigrate from Scotland to America. Alexander settled in New York City while James moved to Charleston. When the war broke out, Alexander enlisted in the 79th New York "Highlanders" and James in the 1st South Carolina "Charleston" battalion. Their war service was vastly different: Alexander fought in Virginia, South Carolina and Kentucky, and resigned in 1863 after being wounded in battle. James helped guard the South Carolina coast, was captured in the battle of Battery Wagner in July 1863 and spent the rest of the war in three Northern prisons.

Although both brothers wrote the letters that are collected in this book, they are vastly dissimilar. The majority of the book consists of Alexander's letters to his wife, while most of James's letters were from prison, by nature short and censored. But one from James shortly after the brothers fought in the battle of Successionville in 1862 laid the position down succinctly: "I hope that You and I will never again meet face to face Bitter enemies on the Battle field. But if such should be the case You have but to discharge your deauty to Your caus for I can assure you I will strive to discharge my deauty to my country & My cause." But despite their beliefs in their respective causes, Alexander and James were brothers, and their feelings for each other, as reflected in the letters and Alexander's assistance to James while he was in prison, never changed. They were brothers first.

Also included in "Him on the One Side" is an extensive collection of footnotes, explanatory material and maps.