A Hard Trip: A History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, CSA

Rating:
Summary: "Comrades in Arms, Comrades in Death"
Review: Ben Wynne's book provides the reality of the moment in 1860 -61 Mississippi. The thoughts of the men who formed the 15th Mississippi are front and center. The feelings of the communities of the righteous of the effort are there too. The ceremonies to present flags to the different units by their communities take you to ground level. Wynne takes you on a day to day journey of the regiment until you feel at home and then he turns to you and whispers, "The Hornet's Nest", and you understand that you've just strolled into the one bloodiest days of the war. You're at Shiloh and just been ordered to charge the Union lines. The glamour fades quickly. Men continue out of honor. A 1,000 men are cut to less than 100 during the course of the war. Ordinary soldiers explain the pain of burying their boys --- "Comrades in Arms, Comrades in Death" --- on a moonlit night outside Atlanta. In Franklin, Tennessee you see them marching barefoot in the snow. My great grand uncle was there, captured and taken to Point Look Out in Maryland. Wynne gives you a glimpse of what he saw and thought. An outstanding book.

Rating:
Summary: "Comrades in Arms, Comrades in Death"
Review: Ben Wynne's book provides the reality of the moment in 1860 -61 Mississippi. The thoughts of the men who formed the 15th Mississippi are front and center. The feelings of the communities of the righteous of the effort are there too. The ceremonies to present flags to the different units by their communities take you to ground level. Wynne takes you on a day to day journey of the regiment until you feel at home and then he turns to you and whispers, "The Hornet's Nest", and you understand that you've just strolled into the one bloodiest days of the war. You're at Shiloh and just been ordered to charge the Union lines. The glamour fades quickly. Men continue out of honor. A 1,000 men are cut to less than 100 during the course of the war. Ordinary soldiers explain the pain of burying their boys --- "Comrades in Arms, Comrades in Death" --- on a moonlit night outside Atlanta. In Franklin, Tennessee you see them marching barefoot in the snow. My great grand uncle was there, captured and taken to Point Look Out in Maryland. Wynne gives you a glimpse of what he saw and thought. An outstanding book.

Rating:
Summary: A Hard Trip
Review: Ben Wynne's book provides the reality of the moment in 1860-61 Mississippi. The thoughts of the men who formed the 15th Mississippi are front and center. The feelings of the communities of the righteous of the effort are there too. The ceremonies to present flags to the different units by their communities take you to ground level. Wynne takes you on a day to day journey of the regiment until you feel at home and then he turns to you and whispers, "The Hornet's Nest", and you understand that you've just strolled into the one bloodiest days of the war. You're at Shiloh and just been ordered to charge the Union lines. The glamour fades quickly. Men continue out of honor. 1,000 men are cut to less than 100 during the course of the war. Ordinary soldiers explain the pain of burying their boys --- "Comrades in Arms, Comrades in Death" --- on a moonlit night outside Atlanta. In Franklin, Tennessee you see them marching barefoot in the snow. My great grand uncle was there, captured and taken to Point Look Out in Maryland. Wynne gives you a glimpse of what he saw and thought. An outstanding book.

Rating:
Summary: A FASCINATING READ
Review: First of all, the book is aptly titled. For the men of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, their journey through the war was indeed "A Hard Trip." The personal stories (and tragedies) that are told through the diaries and letters of the soldiers are by far the most endearing feature of this book. While many histories are based on these types of documents, it is the way author, Ben Wynne, places them in his narrative that makes this book unique. In addition to the material on the war years, there is also a lot of good background about the communities the men came from and the reasons they joined the army. I have never read a Civil War book quite like this. It was really fascinating and I highly recommend it. The book is very well written and I learned a lot more about the history of the state in which I live.

Rating:
Summary: A FASCINATING READ
Review: First of all, the book is aptly titled. For the men of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, their journey through the war was indeed "A Hard Trip." The personal stories (and tragedies) that are told through the diaries and letters of the soldiers are by far the most endearing feature of this book. While many histories are based on these types of documents, it is the way author, Ben Wynne, places them in his narrative that makes this book unique. In addition to the material on the war years, there is also a lot of good background about the communities the men came from and the reasons they joined the army. I have never read a Civil War book quite like this. It was really fascinating and I highly recommend it. The book is very well written and I learned a lot more about the history of the state in which I live.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!
Review: I think this is a wonderful book. While it might be a cliche, I "felt like I was there" much of the time while I was reading. It is obvious that a lot of research went into this book, and the book is written in a very engaging style. The author is a fantastic story teller, and that is definitely part of the book's charm. I felt like I actually got to know the men in the
regiment as I read about what happened to them during the four year struggle. To make a long story short, I love reading about the Civil War and I loved reading this book.