"Rollin Truesdell's letters reveal a great deal that both general readers and serious researchers will appreciate. This is a first-rate volume, one of the better collections of letters related to the Army of the Potomac to appear in the last few decades."
--John Hennessy, Chief Historian (ret.)
Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park
"This is a must read for any Civil War historian."
-- Jim Gandy, Librarian/Archivist, New York State Military Museum
FROM BINGHAMTON TO THE BATTLEFIELD - THE CIVIL WAR LETTERS OF ROLLIN B. TRUESDELL
From Binghamton to the Battlefield draws the reader alongside Rollin B. Truesdell, a prolific letter-writer and an early enlistee in the 27th NY Volunteers, an infantry regiment that was one of the earliest to form and that was in the thick of some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. Rollin vividly described his day-to-day life as a soldier in such clashes as Gaines’ Mill, Crampton’s Gap, and Antietam, and in the camps where soldiers were tormented by disease as well as the slow passage of time. Rollin’s letters shine a light on the unbreakable bonds of comradeship borne of shared war experience even as he clearly ached for home and family. Through his own words and additional supporting context about the military and political environment within which Rollin soldiered, this book chronicles events from the day Rollin mustered into service as an eager recruit until the day he returned home a war-weary, battle-tested veteran disillusioned by the unseemly political machinations of war, yet steadfast in his commitment to victory for the North.