Recollections of War Times By an Old Veteran while under Stonewall Jackson and Lieutenant General James Longstreet: How I Got In and How I Got Out (review)

Originally published for select family members and friends, William A. McClendon’s memoir as a member of the 15th Alabama Infantry during the Civil War is now widely available, thanks to Keith S. Bohannon, associate professor of history at the University of West Georgia. According to Bohannon, McClendon’s account “ranks among the best written by a common soldier of the Army of Northern Virginia” (ix). The memoir eventually became a book in 1909, but the limited number of prints prevented its widespread readership until today. An index as well as three photographs benefit this recent edition.

Following an introduction by Bohannon that highlights McClendon’s ancestry as well as his life before, during, and after the war, the memoir is broken into two parts. Part 1, the more complete section, covers McClendon’s enlistment through the Battle of Fredericksburg. He begins with a short chapter discussing the political climate of the era and a confrontation with his parents preventing his enlistment because he was only sixteen. After earning his father’s consent, McClendon left for war shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run. The rest of part 1 deals with camp life, learning how to drill, and extensive details on the Battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. After Fredericksburg, his regiment transferred from Jackson’s command to Longstreet’s Corps.

Part 2 covers McClendon’s experiences through the end of the war, yet in less than half as many pages as part 1. As Bohannon explains in the introduction, McClendon’s health late in life prevented work on the memoir for two years. As a result, he spent less time in this section elaborating on camp life and the individuals he encountered. An illness in the summer of 1863 prevented him from traveling and participating in the Battle of Gettysburg. He also found out about his unit’s participation in the Battle of Chickamauga after returning from a furlough home following his father’s death. He received another furlough in the spring of 1864, where he found himself at odds with neighbors back home who had despaired of the South’s ability to win the war. Notwithstanding those absences, McClendon provides detailed attention to his regiment’s actions around Chattanooga and Knoxville as well as Richmond during the summer and fall of 1864. Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant in April 1865 surprised McClendon and his unit, but he mentions how the Union soldiers treated his regiment “gentlemanly” on the official day of surrender. McClendon reached home one month later, and he ends his narrative with a poem reflecting younger days.

As with all memoirs, historians should use caution working with McClendon’s book. For one thing, while writing his memoirs, he insisted upon his true loyalty “to the ‘Stars and Stripes’” (8). However, McClendon’s reflections are surprisingly vivid and detailed. He mentions using “the aid of a diary, or record of any kind” to recall events (89). The memoir also offers insight to historians interested in the life of a soldier, including camp life and periods of rest. His accounts of battles are descriptive, almost to the point of digression. He also spends as much time—if not more—on those men he either served alongside or encountered during the war compared with those he served under, such as Lee, Jackson, and Longstreet. Outside of a few paragraphs spent describing a confrontation with U.S. Colored Troops, McClendon sprinkles just a couple of references to race throughout his narrative. He also sticks to his experiences during the conflict, reflecting sparingly on his motivations for continuing to fight. For him, this memoir served as an opportunity to reminisce about his time during the war and...