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

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

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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. Tested in battle, this regiment ultimately proved to be one of the elite cavalry units on either side of the conflict. These sixty-seven 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 University Press (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.com Sales Rank: #2,030,027 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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

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!

4 of 5 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)

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.

4 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.