author
Alfred Burnett
1824–1884
A lively 19th-century humorist and war correspondent, this writer brought Civil War camp life to the page with wit, sentiment, and an eye for memorable detail. His work blends anecdote, observation, and performance-friendly storytelling.
1 Audiobook
Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive
by Alfred Burnett
About the author
Born in England in 1824 and taken to the United States as a child, Alfred Burnett built his reputation in Cincinnati as a writer, poet, lecturer, and public reader. Contemporary reference works describe him as both an entertainer and a journalist, and later local histories remembered him as a familiar literary presence in the city.
Burnett is best known today for Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive (1863), a Civil War book drawn from his experiences around the army. Library and archival records identify him as the author of the work, and period descriptions note that he served as a war correspondent for Cincinnati newspapers, writing in a style noted for humor and anecdote.
He died in 1884. Although he was well known in his day as a performer as well as an author, easily confirmed biographical details are fairly limited now, which makes his surviving work especially valuable as a direct voice from the mid-19th century.