In this stirring memoir, Joseph Ruff recounts his experiences during the first year of his four years of service in Company D of the 12th Michigan Regiment. It was "by far the most severe year of our service...a year of battles, severe marches, constant duties, privations, illness, and death." Beginning as a green new recruit with no fanfare, no uniform and only the bare necessities, Joseph became a seasoned soldier at times living by his wits and...