Charles H. Olmstead

author

Charles H. Olmstead

1837–1926

A Georgia soldier and memoirist, he left behind vivid firsthand accounts of the Civil War, including the defense of Fort Pulaski and service with the First Georgia regiment. His writing offers a personal window into wartime Savannah and Confederate military life.

1 Audiobook

Reminiscences of Service with the First Volunteer Regiment of Georgia, Charleston Harbor, in 1863 An address delivered before the Georgia Historical Society, March 3, 1879

Reminiscences of Service with the First Volunteer Regiment of Georgia, Charleston Harbor, in 1863 An address delivered before the Georgia Historical Society, March 3, 1879

by Charles H. Olmstead

About the author

Born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1837, Charles Hart Olmstead became best known as a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. He was educated at the Georgia Military Institute and later commanded Fort Pulaski, where he was forced to surrender after the Union bombardment in 1862.

After the war, he built a career in business and civic life in Savannah, but he also preserved his memories in print. His best-known work, Reminiscences of Service with the First Volunteer Regiment of Georgia, draws on his wartime experience and has lasting value as a personal account of soldiers, battles, and daily life in the Confederacy.

Olmstead died in 1926. For readers interested in Civil War memoirs, his work stands out for its direct, eyewitness quality and its close ties to Savannah and the coastal campaigns of the war.