... offers an unsurpassed chronicle of the war in the West." --Register of the Kentucky Historical Society This eyewitness account brings a better understanding to a conflict that brought a nation to its knees." --Historical Media Review ... an exceptional Civil War narrative. It has value for the military and literary historian." --War, Literature, and the Arts The letters and diary of Major James Austin Connolly, 123rd Illinois Infantry, constitute an unsurpassed record of Civil War campaigning in the West. Connolly had a flair for narrative, an eye for people and places, and a smooth and facile style. His accounts offer a realistic picture of day-to-day soldiering in the Civil War--of rough, spare living in the field, of boredom and fun in camp, of seemingly aimless scouts, and of the high excitement of battle.