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4.0 out of 5 stars
Reading Other People's Mail, October 1, 2009
In The Soldier's Pen, Robert E. Bonner - an assistant professor of history at Michigan State University and the author of two previous books on the Civil War - provides Civil War enthusiasts and scholars with extended excerpts from the letters, diaries, and artwork from sixteen Union and Confederate soldiers. The book is an admirable accomplishment in terms of accessibility, relevance, interpretation, and in fulfilling the author's own stated mission.
In his Introduction, Bonner admits that though "historians are loath to admit it, there is an illicit thrill that comes with reading other people's mail." (p. 8). He attributes this "thrill" to the sense of discovery that comes from reading and studying documents that were created by soldiers in private moments and intended for a private audience. Bonner has done readers a tremendous favor by providing access to previously unpublished material held in the famous Gilder Lehrman Collection (and now on deposit at the New York Historical Society), and allowing others the same sense of discovery.
In terms of relevance, Bonner's selections dispel any modern conceit one might have that Civil War soldiers weren't as funny, clever, cynical, disgusted, romantic, prurient, etc., as the modern soldier. Whether commenting on "War Republicans," "Peace Democrats," presidential elections, race relations, incompetent officers, desertion, marriage, suffering of civilians, etc., the reader will have a sense that we have been there before.
In terms of interpretation, Bonner expertly and sensitively weaves the letters, diaries, and artwork into the larger context of the Civil War. In seven chapters, he covers the importance of regular correspondence between soldiers and their families, army life, combat, commitment to (and disaffection with) Union war aims, the fading prospects of the Confederacy, African-American soldiers, and - coming full circle - the importance of surviving letters as family heirlooms and national treasures.
For his part, Bonner states that a central aim of his book was to "restore soldiers' individuality." (p. 4). To be sure, he is not the first scholar to draw on soldier correspondence and diaries to provide insights into the lives of Civil War soldiers and sailors. Still, Bonner makes the salient point that previous studies often turn into a "collective portrait," drawing on snippets from dozens, if not hundreds, of pieces of correspondence to examine how "they" marched, fought, and returned home. By concentrating his study on longer excerpts from fewer soldiers, Bonner is able to avoid the trap and instead maintain the personal in what he deems an impersonal war.
The reproduction of more than a dozen drawings from the sketchpad of an anonymous Massachusetts infantryman - known only as "George" - is worth the price of the book. If not as talented, this soldier's drawings of the vagaries of soldier life are every bit as comical and insightful as Bill Mauldin's famous "Willie and Joe" cartoons from World War II. "George's" lampooning of the northern press's enthusiastic (and exaggerated) coverage of the taking of a Confederate outhouse deserves to be a classic.
The book does have two major flaws; the most glaring of these is the lack of an index. Want to know what soldiers thought of McClellan? of Lincoln? of food? of homeguards? of African-American soldiers? You'll have to read the book and hunt for it yourself. The other major flaw is the lack of a substantial bibliography apart from detailed catalog records from the Gilder Lehrman Collection. In this matter, it fails as a launching point for further research by an interested reader; others may not be satisfied at Bonner's assertions (as statements of fact) on points for which there may be disagreement among scholars.
It is the contents that make this book what it is, though; the letters, diary entries, and artwork from these soldiers deserve a wide audience - especially for those interested in "bottom up" history - and in this, Bonner has succeeded.
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