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THE BOY OF BATTLE FORD AND THE MAN ( W. S. Blackman New Introduction by Herbert K. Russell The Boy of Battle Ford and the Man ( Blackman Southern Illinois University Press The Boy of Battle Ford and the Man covers Blackman’s years growing up in postsettlement Illinois, where he comes of age as the Civil War breaks out. He joins the Union Army with fellow southern Illinoisans and is placed in the 120th Illinois Infantry Regiment. Blackman participates in the Union victory at Vicksburg and the disastrous defeat at Brice’s Crossroads. He fights an inner battle against the temptations of youth and army life before finding peace in religion—and writing the only sustained account of the 120th Illinois Infantry Regiment. From the Introduction: “The Boy of Battle Ford and the Man tells a true story as ancient as armies: a young person goes off to war, and an older one, changed by experience, returns. The best of these stories are usually told by enlisted personnel—the privates, corporals, and sergeants who bear the greatest hardships—and this is the case with author W. S. Blackman, who served in all three capacities during the American Civil War.” W. S. Blackman (1840–1913), who grew up near Harrisburg, Illinois, served in the 120th Illinois Infantry Regiment in the Civil War before becoming a Baptist minister and Saline County superintendent of schools. Herbert K. Russell, formerly the executive director for college relations at John A. Logan College, is a literary scholar and southern Illinois historian who has been a college teacher, an editor, and a writer. He is the author of A Southern Illinois Album, The State of Southern Illinois, and Edgar Lee Masters: A Biography. southern illinois university press 1915 university press drive mail code 6806 carbondale, il 62901 www.siupress.com $16.00 usd isbn 0-8093-3128-4 isbn 978-0-8093-3128-4 Printed in the United States of America Blackman cvr mech.indd 1 2/16/12 2:45 PM THE BOY OF BATTLE FORD AND THE MAN ( ...
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