Customer Reviews

Southerners at War: The 38th Alabama Infantry Volunteers

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

 

 

It was quite a disappointment to find that almost 300 pages of this 400 page book were dedicated to a roster. The roster appears to come directly from the National Archives compiled service records. Only 39 pages are dedicated to telling the history of the regiment. The roster is just the basic information from the Natl. Archives and there is no indepth statistical analysis of the regiment. This book is very basic and would rank near the bottom of regimental histories that I have read over the past decade.

This is a well written, well researched book on the men of the 38th Alabama Infantry. It's obvious that the author spent many, many hours of research to produce this work. If you had relatives in the War of Northern Agression, or any interest at all, this is a "must have" for your bookshelf, although it won't be on your bookshelf much. There is interesting facts on hundreds of the men who fought for what they believed in. Very, very interesting reading.

How did a boy 190 miles away end up enlisting in the 38th Alabama Infantry Regiment at Ft. Gaines, Ala., in a Company designated for a County other than his own? Art Green explains how in this book. After 5 yrs of fruitless searching, with his information, and the detailed personal accounts provided about my ancestor, this book led me on a journey to my ancestor's burial spot within the Unknown Cofederate Dead Section of Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery. A true treasure for 38th Alabama Infantry descendants.

If you are interested in Civil War history I would recommend that you leave this book on the shelf. However if you have a family member who served in the regiment then it might be a nice keepsake. Less than 40 pages are devoted to the history of the regiment and you would be just as well off to read the regiment's reports in the Official Record. Most of the pages are filled with the names of roster of the regiment.

There is very little to grab hold of in this book. Even the roster seems to be limited to what was found on the National Archives Compiled Service Records. Overall a real disappointment and not at all what I was expecting.