FROM CAMP DOUGLAS TO VICKSBURG: The Civil War Letters of William J. Kennedy, 55th Illinois Infantry, 1861-1863

1-248680

Presents firsthand accounts and letters from William J. Kennedy, who was a second-generation Irish-American born in New York in 1827. Jumped at the chance to recruit and even recruited many of his friends and relatives into Company G of the 55th Illinois Infantry, a new regiment being organized in Chicago under Col. David Stuart. Kennedy played the role of embedded reporter during some of the most momentous events in the Western Theater. His letters to his wife Jane, family members, and friends are often as detailed as newspaper accounts and battle reports. His observations span the gamut, from corruption in the army and the alien culture in Tennessee and Mississippi, to his unyielding confidence in President Lincoln's judgment. Contains previously unseen descriptions of the fighting at Shiloh, the siege of Corinth, the triumphal entry into Memphis, the disaster of Chickasaw Bayou, and the misery of digging canals around Vicksburg. Sadly, it was there that William lost his life. Contains 22 images and three maps.