Samuel R. (Samuel Rush) Watkins

Born in Tennessee in 1839, Samuel Rush Watkins served in the 1st Tennessee Infantry during the American Civil War and later became known as an American writer and humorist. He is remembered above all for Co. Aytch (1882), the memoir that grew out of his wartime experience and made his name last well beyond his lifetime.

What keeps Watkins interesting to readers is the tone of his writing: lively, observant, and often unexpectedly funny even when describing hardship. Rather than writing like a distant historian, he wrote as someone who had been there, which gives his work an immediacy that still draws in modern readers.

Watkins died in 1901, but Co. Aytch remains the reason he is still widely read. For listeners interested in firsthand Civil War narratives, he stands out as a memorable voice from the rank and file.