Personal Recollections of the Civil War / By One Who Took Part in It as a Private Soldier in the 21st Volunteer Regiment of Infantry from Massachusetts

The memoir offers a first-person account of an infantry private's daily experience during the American Civil War, blending vivid camp-life detail—rations, drills, marches, picket duty, furloughs—and battlefield narrative of campaigns from coastal operations through major Virginia and Maryland engagements. It alternates action descriptions with hospital recollections after being wounded, visits by notable figures, and small personal anecdotes about comrades, civilian encounters, and pastimes. Woven through are observations on hardship, camaraderie, re-enlistment, and recovery, presented in a chronological diary-like sequence that emphasizes lived experience over strategic analysis.