James L. (James Lorenzo) Bowen

Born in Marlboro, Vermont, on April 2, 1842, James Lorenzo Bowen grew up in New England and later became a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was wounded at Gettysburg, an experience that likely shaped the vivid, soldier-centered way he later wrote about the war.

Bowen wrote both history and fiction, but he is especially known for substantial Civil War works such as History of the Thirty-Seventh Regiment, Mass. Volunteers in the Civil War of 1861-1865 and Massachusetts in the War, 1861-1865. He also published earlier adventure and historical novels, showing a range that ran from popular storytelling to large-scale documentary history.

He died in Springfield, Massachusetts, on September 23, 1919. Today, his writing stands out for preserving the memory of soldiers and regiments in careful detail while still keeping the narrative readable for general audiences.