E. C. (Edward C.) Downs

author

E. C. (Edward C.) Downs

1829–1884

A Union Army officer and Civil War writer, he is best remembered for a vivid 1866 account of espionage and battlefield danger. His surviving work captures the fast-moving, personal side of the war through the story of scout Lorain Ruggles, known as "General Bunker."

1 Audiobook

Four Years a Scout and Spy "General Bunker", One of Lieut. General Grant's Most Daring and Successful Scouts, Being a Narrative of ... the Experience of Corporal Ruggles During Four Years' Service as a Scout and Spy for the Federal Army

Four Years a Scout and Spy "General Bunker", One of Lieut. General Grant's Most Daring and Successful Scouts, Being a Narrative of ... the Experience of Corporal Ruggles During Four Years' Service as a Scout and Spy for the Federal Army

by E. C. (Edward C.) Downs

About the author

Born in 1829 and known in print as E. C. Downs, Edward C. Downs was an American Civil War veteran who served with the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry and held the rank of major. He is associated with the Union war effort not only as a soldier, but also as a writer who helped preserve firsthand memories of the conflict.

His best-known book, Four Years a Scout and Spy, was published in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1866. The book presents the adventures of Union scout Lorain Ruggles, called "General Bunker," and is written in an energetic, story-driven style that mixes danger, close calls, and military detail. Later editions and library records continued to preserve the work, showing its lasting interest for readers of Civil War history.

Downs died in 1884. Even though little widely available biographical information survives about his personal life, his book remains a valuable window into how veterans of the war wanted its risks, personalities, and acts of daring to be remembered.