author
Orvey S. Barrett
A Civil War veteran who turned lived experience into a compact, vivid memoir, this author offers a direct view of army life in the 4th Michigan Infantry. His writing stands out for its plainspoken detail about battles, marches, and the rough routines of camp.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Orvey S. Barrett is known for Reminiscences, Incidents, Battles, Marches and Camp Life of the Old 4th Michigan Infantry in War of Rebellion, 1861 to 1864, first published in 1888. The book is also credited to O. S. Barrett in some editions and public-domain listings.
From the title and the way the work is described in major library and public-domain records, Barrett appears to have written from firsthand experience with the 4th Michigan Infantry during the American Civil War. Rather than offering a distant history, he focuses on the everyday reality of soldiering as well as the strain of campaigning and combat.
Not much biographical information about Barrett himself was easy to confirm from reliable online sources, so the surviving picture of him comes mainly through this memoir. Even so, that single work has lasted because it gives readers a short, personal window into the war through the eyes of someone who seems to have lived it.