Camp, Court and Siege / A Narrative of Personal Adventure and Observation During Two Wars: 1861-1865; 1870-1871

A veteran officer recounts his Civil War service and later diplomatic experiences in Europe, blending battlefield and administrative detail. He describes coastal and river operations, sieges, disease, engineering feats such as dam-building to save a fleet, command changes, and camp life, then turns to his Paris posting during the Franco-Prussian conflict and the Commune. He records siege conditions, food shortages, balloon and pigeon communications, diplomatic negotiations and evacuations, popular unrest, and the violent suppression centered on Versailles, pairing tactical and political observation with personal anecdotes and reflections on military leadership, bureaucratic friction, and the human cost of war.