author
William E. Bevens
1841–1924
A Confederate soldier from Arkansas turned his wartime experience into a plainspoken Civil War memoir that readers still seek out today. His writing stands out for its close attention to marching, camp life, and the day-to-day reality of service in the First Arkansas Infantry.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in 1841 and dying in 1924, William E. Bevens is known for Reminiscences of a Private, Company "G," First Arkansas Regiment Infantry: May, 1861 to 1865. The Library of Congress lists the work as published around 1913, and bibliographic records identify him as the author of this personal narrative.
Bevens served in Company G of the 1st Arkansas Infantry during the American Civil War. Later readers and editors have valued his account as a rare surviving memoir from an Arkansas private, especially because it focuses less on grand speeches or sweeping judgments and more on the ordinary burdens of soldiering.
A modern University of Arkansas Press edition helped bring his memoir to new audiences, presenting it as an important firsthand record of campaigns and everyday army life. For listeners interested in Civil War history, his work offers a direct, unadorned voice from the ranks rather than from the officer's tent.