The Citizen-Soldier or, Memoirs of a Volunteer

A modest soldier’s diary opens with a heartfelt dedication to his brother, explaining how family sacrifice made his own enlistment possible. He sets the scene in the spring of 1861, when the Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry marched into Virginia, eager yet uncertain, and quickly becomes a vivid glimpse of a young man thrust into a nation at war.

The pages linger on the rhythm of camp life: the chatter around fire‑pits, the rumors that spread faster than orders, the small comforts and the harsher privations of marching and bivouacking. He records personal observations of battles, captures, and brief imprisonments, always from the ground‑level perspective of a volunteer. Though lacking grand strategy, his candid voice captures the humor, fear, and camaraderie that defined everyday soldiering, offering listeners an intimate portrait of ordinary people living through extraordinary times.