Dear Uncles - (Excelsior Editions) by Rick Barram (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A New York soldier's eyewitness account of life in the first year of the Civil War, from the campgrounds to the battlefields.

Dear Uncles is one young man's story from the beginning of the American Civil War. Taken from letters sent home to family and friends, including correspondence written for his uncles' local newspaper, this book gives an intimate portrait of Arthur McKinstry's journey from a small town in upstate New York to confront Confederate forces in Virginia. Articulate, confident, and observant, McKinstry's letters are written with a journalist's eye and poet's heart, giving us a vivid, humorous, and ultimately heartbreaking view into his experiences of going to war. Whether slogging through rain and mud, waiting for care packages from home, or watching cannonballs land in camp, these dispatches place readers in a young soldier's boots and help them to imagine how family and friends experienced this crisis in American history. Dear Uncles also offers new insights into regimental organization, training, and the often-overlooked attempt of Confederates to blockade Washington, DC's Potomac River supply route. Dear Uncles will fascinate and entertain readers with an interest in American Civil War history.

Review Quotes

"Barram's skills as a researcher and editor are evident as he contextualizes the material, which breathes life into a regiment off at war. McKinstry's letters are interspersed with 'Other Voices, ' which feature letters and reports offering a range of viewpoints that balance the book." -- Military Images

"There is much here that will appeal to readers ... Dear Uncles offers a bounty of information particularly to students of the Excelsior Brigade. The book also provides a unique glimpse of the often-overlooked actions along the Lower Potomac River early in the war." -- America's Civil War

About the Author

A retired history and theater arts teacher, Rick Barram resides in northern California. He is the author of The 72nd New York Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster.