From Western Deserts to Carolina Swamps: A Civil War Soldier's Journals and Letters Home ed. by John P. Wilson (review)

Lewis Roe was an Illinois farm boy who enlisted in the U.S. Infantry in 1858 and was stationed in New Mexico when Fort Sumter was fired upon. In From Western Deserts to Carolina Swamps: A Civil War Soldier's Journals and Letters Home, John P. Wilson is able to add to the complex story that is the Civil War by giving Lewis Roe's story using his own words. To give the unique story of an enlisted man, Wilson has collected the journals and letters Roe wrote during his time in the Union army. Due to his location, Roe was involved in the little-known New Mexico campaigns. When he rejoined the army in 1864, he was sent to Sherman's Army and was part of the famous March to the Sea.

Roe's writings show the everyday duties and thoughts of a common enlisted man. His manuscripts give the details of the daily marches and problems that arose, while his letters show his worries for family and friends who were serving as well as the well-being of his wife and newborn child back home. His journals provide an insight into the common Civil War soldier's mind. Among the less than exciting parts of soldiers' lives showcased in the book are the complaints of being ordered to picket duty and the ways soldiers used downtime. Roe's words illustrate the unknowns and struggles soldiers faced during the war. From Western Deserts is a book that gives not only the typical everyday experience of a soldier during the war, but also the distinct situations a soldier would have experienced during the 1861-62 campaigns in the Southwest, as well as the march with Sherman through Georgia and the Carolinas during the last year of the war.

While the stories of the great battles and generals are well-known, they only show a portion of what really occurred. The majority of a Civil War soldier's life was spent marching or in camp, not in battle. The enlisted men were not only on the front line but marched twenty miles a day and did not know when or where they would rest and eat at the end of the day. The materials collected to create this book provide not just the story of a common Union soldier but a new perspective on certain campaigns. The struggles and experiences of the common soldier are the real story of the Civil War, and From Western Deserts to Carolina Swamps: A Soldier's Journals and Letters Home brings to life the actual experiences and thoughts of one such soldier.