A Surgeon's Civil War: The Letters and Diary of Daniel M. Holt, M.D.
A helpful addition to the histories of both medicine and the Civil War. From rural New York, Holt served with the 121st New York Infantry from September 1862 until October 1864, when he was granted a medical leave because of the tuberculosis that three years later ended his life. His letters to his wife and the diary he kept from May to October 1864 describe daily life in the army, with its boredom, frustration, flashes of intense activity, and occasional fear and terror. Holt's accounts of the fighting at Cold Harbor and in other battles present graphic descriptions of woundings and deaths; of courage, cowardice, and disjointedness; and especially of the appalling sights, odors, and sounds not only during the fighting but for days afterward. Gratifyingly, the editors' introductions and footnotes achieve just the right balance of pertinent information and context setting; they neither overwhelm the reader nor leave valid questions unanswered.William Beatty--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.