Frank Wilkeson Frank Wilkeson ( March 8 , 1848 – April 22 , 1913 ) was an American journalist , soldier , farmer and explorer . He wrote several books , including an autobiography of his service in the Union Army during the American Civil War . He was among the first white men to explore and map the Cascade Pass in the state of Washington . Early life and education . Wilkeson was born in Buffalo , New York , in 1848 to a prominent and wealthy family . He was the youngest son of famed journalist Samuel Wilkeson ( 1817 – 1889 ) and Catherine Cady , a sister of social activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton . Their next - door neighbor was U . S . President Millard Fillmore . One of his older brothers , Bayard Wilkeson , would be killed during the Civil War at the Battle of Gettysburg while commanding an artillery battery on what became known as Barlow ' s Knoll . Frank was educated at New London , Connecticut , and in New Hampshire . Their father , Samuel Wilkeson , was a newspaper correspondent who covered the Civil War for " The New York Times " and was present at Gettysburg during the battle in which 19 - year - old Bayard was killed . A year later , 14 - year - old Frank ran away from home and on March 26 , 1864 , joined the Union Army . Claiming he was an 18 - year - old farmer , young Wilkeson enlisted in the 11th Battery of the New York Light Artillery . Career . Military career . Wilkeson was sent to serve in the Army of the Potomac in Virginia , where he took part in the Overland Campaign of General Ulysses S . Grant . Wilkeson ' s unit was not actively engaged in the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5 – 6 , 1864 , so Wilkeson , overcome by youthful curiosity , took an unauthorized leave of absence from his battery and fought as an infantryman alongside elements of General Winfield Scott Hancock ' s Second Corps using a discarded musket he picked up on the battlefield . The following day he returned to his battery where he was punished for his absenteeism , then diligently remained with them during the subsequent Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse , Battle of Cold Harbor , and opening stages of the Siege of Petersburg . Due to the political influence of his family , Wilkeson was offered a commission as a second lieutenant in the 4th U . S . Artillery . He initially declined the assignment which was first offered to him during the Battle of Cold Harbor , but several weeks later at Petersburg , suffering from what his memoirs indicate was post traumatic stress disorder ( PTSD ) , he accepted the promotion and left the grueling life of a combat soldier behind . As an officer he was sent to help man the defenses of Washington , D . C . , and later severed in command of an artillery detachment guarding Confederate prisoners at Elmira Prison in Upstate New York . Finally , he was transferred to the Chattanooga , Tennessee , area as the war was winding down and Reconstruction beginning . He resigned his commission and was honorably discharged in March 1866 . Post - military career . After the war , Wilkeson worked as a mining engineer in Pennsylvania and married Mary Crouse in 1869 . The couple then settled in Johnstown but in 1871 they moved to Gypsum , Kansas , where they managed a large cattle ranch and wheat farm . In the 1880s , Wilkeson wrote for several newspapers including " The New York Times " , as well as contributing articles to periodicals such as " Harper ' s Weekly " . A memoir of his military experiences , highly critical of how the war was conducted by corrupt politicians and incompetent officers , was published in 1887 under the title " Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac , 1864 – 1865 " . Wilkerson ' s book included a startling chapter entitled " How Men Die in Battle " that graphically described the various ways men were killed in combat during the Civil War particularly noting their facial expressions . Highly regarded by historians for its no - holds - barred style , the book was reprinted in 1997 as " Turned Inside Out : Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac " with an introduction by Pulitzer Prize - winning author James M . McPherson . Death . Wilkeson died from complications of diabetes at a hotel in Chelan , Washington , on April 22 , 1913 . He was buried in Gypsum , Kansas . Honors . The town of Wilkeson , Washington , was named in his honor .