On Many a Bloody Field

"On Many a Bloody Field" is a masterpiece of Civil War scholarship and painstaking historical research - reviews "Bookwatch". "The author gives some of the best descriptions of the daily life of a Civil War soldier that can be found anywhere" - reviews "Library Journal". "It is a history of the common man, the ordinary men who circumstances call upon to do extraordinary jobs...one of the best examples of this genre of Civil War studies" - quotes "Free-Lance Star" (St. Petersburg, FL). "This is an excellent unit history of a renowned regiment" - reviews "Civil War News". "The story is highly dramatic and well told" - says "Indianapolis Star". "Alan D. Gaff has managed to provide both scholars and general readers a new perspective on the Civil War..." - reviews "History". "American history on a human scale" - quotes "Kirkus Review". "On Many a Bloody Field" follows one of the Civil War's most famous combat organizations - Company B, 19th Indiana Volunteers of the Iron Brigade - in a vivid account of ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Alan Gaff follows the men from recruitment through mustering out, from the tedium of camp to the excitement of battle.
Marches and battles are described in detail, but Gaff also devotes close attention to how the war affected individuals, both physically and emotionally. Formed into a brigade with the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, these Indiana soldiers fought their first real battle at Brawner Farm. Over four difficult years, they fought on many a bloody field: Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gitzhugh Crossing, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Laurel Hill, North Anna River, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Weldon Railroad. With meticulous care, Alan Gaff recounts the experience of war from the soldiers' perspective, often in the words of the men themselves. This intimate portrait of men at war is an important contribution to the literature of the Civil War.