No More Gallant a Deed: A Civil War Memoir of the First Minnesota Volunteers

By James A. Wright

Book Overview

A perceptive and detailed Civil War memoir of the First Minnesota Regiment chronicling such famous battles as Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg.

James A. Wright was an orderly sergeant in Company F of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. His memoir, based on his diaries and letters, is the fullest personal account of the battles, marches, and soldier life of one of the most renowned regiments in the Army of the Potomac. The First took part in every significant battle and action in the war in the East from 1861 to 1864. In remarkable detail, he describes the fighting at Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and Bristoe Station. At Gettysburg, the First Minnesota halted the Confederate charge and suffered an 82 percent casualty rate. Wright's account of the battle is striking in its description of the horror the men felt at facing their foes, their determination to do their duty, and the shock of the loss of so many of their comrades.

With an eloquence rare in war memoirs, Wright recalls the long marches, the poor food, the inadequate shelter, the dedicated officers, the debilitating illnesses, the longing for home, and the sense of pride in carrying out the struggle to preserve the Union. For conveying what the Civil War meant to one man, it is unmatched.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1681340526
• ISBN13: 9781681340524
• Release Date: February 2017
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press
• Length: 468 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

A Splendid "I was there" account

War accounts are usually written from the top down. Here the account is from the ground-up, literally. Sgt Wright tells the story of his volunteer company, Co.F of the 1st Minnesota exactly like it is seen by the average groundpounder. Being a former Viet Nam era "grunt" and also coming from Wright's hometown of Red Wing, Mn, I was able to viscerally feel the physical discomforts of the men as they walked, froze,sweated...

The story is grand, the prose simple, the details fascinate

This memoir of service with the First Minnesota recounts the sojourn of James Wright, from Red Wing, Minnesota through the battle of Gettysburg. Wright wrote the book long after his service, and his over-long monograph sat in the Minnesota Historical Society until edited and published in this book. The book starts as a slow read, but picks up and eventually begins to mesmerize the reader.Think of any major event of the day...

Excellent first person account of a union soldier

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality and content of this book. The author is Sergeant Wright of Co. F, First Minnesota Regiment. His writing is excellent. The editor has chosen to primarily include first person accounts while excluding most of the post war years analysis that often creep into such accounts.This book so effectively complements "The Last Full Measure - The Life and Death of the First Minnesota Volunteers"...