Alfred Burnett

Born in 1824 and dying in 1884, Alfred Burnett is chiefly known today for Incidents of the War: Humorous, Pathetic, and Descriptive, published in Cincinnati in 1863. Library of Congress and Project Gutenberg records identify him as the author of that work, which sits at the crossroads of memoir, anecdote, and Civil War history.

The book presents the war through short, memorable episodes rather than grand strategy. Its appeal comes from the mix promised in the title: comic moments from camp life, moving scenes of hardship and loss, and sharp observations drawn from close experience with the army.

Reliable biographical detail about Burnett appears to be quite limited in the sources available online, so it is safest to remember him mainly through this surviving work. Even so, that book gives a strong sense of a writer who wanted history to feel immediate, human, and readable.