The boys from Rockville
Subtitle: Civil War narratives of Sgt. Benjamin Hirst, Company D, 14th Connecticut Volunteers
By: edited, with commentary, by Robert L. Bee.
Contributors: Bee, Robert L.
Edition: 1st ed.
Series: Voices of the Civil War; Voices of the Civil War series
Publisher: University of Tennessee Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Knoxville
Language: eng
Number of pages: 223
Subjects: Hirst, Benjamin, 1828-1909 -- Correspondence.; United States. Army. Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 14th (1862-1865); Soldiers -- Connecticut -- Correspondence.; Connecticut -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives.; Connecticut -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories.; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Regimental histories.
Description: The 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry was formed in August 1862 and less than a month later its men were engaged in the fierce fighting at Bloody Lane during the battle of Antietam. This book presents an articulate, firsthand view of camp life and combat in the 14th, as told by Sgt. Benjamin Hirst of Company D, a unit composed largely of men from the mill town of Rockville.

Hirst's wartime narratives consist of letters and journal entries written during his actual service. As such, they have a special freshness and immediacy lacking in most postwar memoirs and creative reconstructions of the war. Filled with details about the common soldier's experiences of army life, Hirst's writings also offer his views on the singular importance of personal courage in combat and of a marriage weathering the difficult separation brought on by war.

Interspersed with Hirst's narrative is extensive commentary by Robert L. Bee that seeks to capture Hirst's worldview and the impact of his earlier life experiences upon his wartime portrayals.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [215]-218) and index.