author
Leander Stillwell
1843–1934
A Union soldier, Kansas lawyer, and district judge, he is best remembered for turning his Civil War service into a vivid firsthand memoir. His writing stands out for its plainspoken detail and its focus on the everyday life of an ordinary soldier.
1 Audiobook
The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865
by Leander Stillwell
About the author
Born in Greene County, Illinois, in 1843, he enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War and served with Company D of the 61st Illinois Infantry. Later accounts of his life describe him as a veteran who saw service in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas before building a legal career in Kansas.
After the war, he settled in Erie, Kansas, practiced law, and went on to serve for many years as a district judge. Alongside his public career, he preserved his wartime memories in The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861–1865, first published in 1917.
That memoir remains the main reason readers still seek him out today. Rather than writing as a famous general or politician, he wrote as an observant participant, giving a direct and human picture of camp life, marches, battles, and the long routine of military service.