This unique book, originally published in a limited edition in 1982 and out of print for many years, is the most comprehensive collection of Civil War letters written by residents of Southeastern Alabama and Southwestern Georgia to be published. Poignant in emotion, informative in detail, and broad in scope, the correspondence contained here provides us with a unique opportunity to understand the Civil War and its effect on individuals and families from an intensely personal perspective. The writers, the great majority of them unlettered and expressing themselves in a disarmingly honest manner in their heartfelt missives, collectively paint a compelling portrait of a watershed moment in national history from a regional viewpoint. They make well-known events tangible and lesser-known sidebars illuminating. The book is a solidly researched volume that represents a key piece of the historiographical record of the eighteen-county region served by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission. Appropriately, this volume reaches Americans as our nation contemplates the Civil War and its impact on American history during the war's sesquicentennial anniversary. -- Back jacket cover.