Chickamauga. Useless, Disastrous Battle

The narrator begins as a novice lawyer from Freeport who, driven by patriotism, answered Lincoln’s call in 1861 and entered the Union army as a private. Within a short time he finds himself promoted repeatedly, eventually commanding a regiment despite feeling out of his depth. His voice is candid, admitting he knows little of grand tactics but is eager to share the day‑to‑day reality of soldiering.

In August 1863 he joins Wilder’s famed brigade of mounted infantry, armed with the revolutionary Spencer repeating rifle. He describes the maneuvering of the Army of the Cumberland around Chattanooga, the surprise attacks, and the fierce river‑bank skirmishes that tested his men’s resolve. The account captures the grit of the battlefield while emphasizing the narrator’s personal observations over strategic analysis.

After the war he tried to leave the conflict behind, yet a chance encounter with a forgotten volume pulls him back into the memories of that chaotic summer. His memoir offers listeners an intimate glimpse of a pivotal campaign through the eyes of someone who lived it.