author

Ansel D. Nickerson

d. 1896

A Civil War veteran’s memoirist with a sharp eye for camp life, hardship, and the strange mix of humor and fear that shaped a soldier’s days. His short book feels personal and immediate, capturing service in the Eleventh Rhode Island Volunteers from the viewpoint of an ordinary recruit.

1 Audiobook

A Raw Recruit's War Experiences

A Raw Recruit's War Experiences

by Ansel D. Nickerson

About the author

Best known for A Raw Recruit's War Experiences (1888), this American writer drew directly on his service as a private in Company B of the Eleventh Rhode Island Volunteers. The book began as a paper read before veterans' groups in Providence in 1886 and 1887, then was printed privately after friends urged him to publish it.

Rather than trying to write a full regimental history, he framed the work as personal recollection. That choice gives the memoir its charm: it focuses on the daily realities of Civil War service, mixing camp anecdotes, human detail, and the pressures of a nine-month campaign in Virginia.

Library and catalog records identify him as Ansel D. Nickerson, who died in 1896, and genealogical records list him as Ansel Dean Nickerson (1834–1896). I couldn’t confirm a reliable, clearly identifiable portrait image from the sources I found, so no profile image is included here.