author
David Lathrop
Best known for a firsthand Civil War regimental history, this 19th-century writer brought the marches, battles, and daily life of Union soldiers into clear, lively focus.
1 Audiobook
The History of the Fifty-ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteers
by David Lathrop
About the author
David Lathrop is known for The History of the Fifty-ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, a Civil War regimental history first published in 1865. The surviving title pages and library records identify him as Dr. D. Lathrop or Dr. David Lathrop, suggesting he wrote from a medical background as well as a close knowledge of the regiment.
His book follows the Fifty-ninth Illinois Volunteers through campaigns in Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, blending battle narrative with sketches of places, hardships, casualties, and camp life. That mix of detail and immediacy is a big part of why the work still matters to readers interested in soldiers' lived experience, not just military timelines.
Little biographical information about Lathrop himself was easy to confirm from reliable online sources beyond this book and its publication details. Even so, the history he left behind gives him a clear place among firsthand chroniclers of the American Civil War.