author
Henry Harrison Eby
1841–1932
A Union cavalry veteran turned his wartime letters and memories into a vivid Civil War memoir, giving readers a direct, personal view of battle, camp life, and imprisonment. His writing feels plainspoken and immediate, shaped by experience rather than literary polish.
1 Audiobook
Observations of an Illinois Boy in Battle, Camp and Prisons—1861 to 1865
by Henry Harrison Eby
About the author
Born on September 8, 1841, in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, he moved with his family to the Mendota area of Illinois in 1850. A local biographical notice says he had limited formal schooling as a boy and largely educated himself.
He is remembered for Observations of an Illinois Boy in Battle, Camp and Prisons—1861 to 1865, a firsthand account drawn from letters, memoranda, and memory. In the book's preface, he explains that he still possessed twenty-nine letters he had written while serving in the army during the Civil War, which helped shape the narrative.
That memoir is the work most closely associated with him today, and it stands out for its firsthand perspective as a soldier in the 7th Illinois Cavalry. Henry Harrison Eby lived from 1841 to 1932, and his book remains a useful window into the everyday realities of Union service during the war.