On Campaign with the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Journal of Theodore Ayrault Dodge

by Theodore Ayrault Dodge and Stephen W. Sears

Book Overview

Theodore Ayrault Dodge (1842-1909) was the nineteenth century's greatest military historian and author of biographies of Hannibal, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Gustavus Adolphus and Napoleon.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815410301
• ISBN13: 9780815410300
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A must have for the Civil War Buff

An excellent first person narrative from the point of view of a Captain in the Army of the Potomac. Whereas most civil war histories are written from an omnicient thrid person view which focuses on battles and strategy; here we get a chance to see what the war was like to a lowly footsoldier. What comes off most is the incredible monotony, privitation, and uncertainty which dominated the soldier's life. One also gets an insight to how magical the simplest pleasures (ie. coffee) can be to one who has been long without. It has been said that war consists of long periods of boredom interspaced with moments of sheer terror. This book brings that adage home in a journal written on the spot by a man who went on to become one of the great 19th century historians.

A remarkably vivid memoir of military life

Ably edited by Stephen Sears, On Campaign With The Army Of The Potomac: The Civil War Journal Of Theodore Ayrault Dodge is the compelling and informative memoir of Theodore Doge (1842-1909) who joined the Union Army at the age of 19 and kept a running "journal-type account" of wis battlefield experiences. He was a lieutenant colonel in the Army of the Potomac's 101st, and later transferred to the 199th New York infantry regiment. He saw action at the Seven Days' Battle, Second Bull Run, and Chancellorsville, ending his journal and fighting career on the bloody field of Gettysburg. He was wounded three times -- once slightly, once seriously, and then losing a leg. On Campaign With The Army Of The Potomac is a remarkably vivid memoir of military life that is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to the growing library of Civil War studies.