author
William A. Spicer
1845–1913
A Rhode Island Civil War veteran turned his service into careful historical record, preserving the story of the Ninth and Tenth Rhode Island regiments and the Tenth Rhode Island Battery. His work stands out as both firsthand remembrance and a contribution to Union military history.
1 Audiobook
The Flag Replaced on Sumter A Personal Narrative
by William A. Spicer
About the author
Born in 1845 and dying in 1913, William Arnold Spicer is remembered as a Rhode Island veteran and author whose best-known work focused on the Union units in which Rhode Islanders served during the Civil War.
His major book, History of the Ninth and Tenth Regiments Rhode Island Volunteers, and the Tenth Rhode Island Battery, in the Union Army in 1862, was first published in 1892. It helped preserve the service record and experiences of those regiments for later readers, making his writing especially valuable to anyone interested in Rhode Island's role in the war.
Spicer also wrote The Flag Replaced on Sumter: A Personal Narrative, a title that suggests the personal, witness-like quality of his historical writing. Taken together, his books reflect a writer interested not only in military facts, but in keeping memory alive for fellow soldiers, families, and future historians.