Through Blood & Fire: Selected Civil War Papers of Major General Joshua Chamberlain

Includes all of Chamberlain's known wartime letters
Shows his transformation from college professor to major general
Original writings placed into context by historian Mark Nesbitt

In July 1862 Joshua Chamberlain, a family man and respected professor at Bowdoin College in Maine, joined the fight to preserve the Union. His wartime service was exemplary; he is perhaps best remembered for his outstanding leadership at Gettysburg. At all times, however, he fought bravely and well, even at Petersburg in 1864 where he received the wound that was to torment him until his death in 1914.

Throughout his time in the field, Chamberlain wrote letters of recommendation to his superiors, letters of condolence to the families of soldiers killed while under his command, and letters to his family at home. All are well written, revealing the professor's educated background and elegant prose. Nesbitt's notes set the scene, place Chamberlain's writings within the larger context of the war, and make clear the General's sterling character and his sacrifices for the country he loved.
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On April 25th from noon to 3PM From My Shelf Books & Gifts will be hosting a duel author event with William P. Robertson and Jeffrey Stayton. William P. Robertson is the author of the Bucktail series and Jeffrey Stayton is the author of the recently published This Side of the River.

This Side of the River tells the story of a group of young, angry Confederate widows who band together at the end of the Civil War, take up arms, and march north to Ohio to burn down the home of General William Tecumsah Sherman.

It draws from the rich tradition of William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying and Charles Baxter's The Feast of Love as it interweaves themes of gender, revenge, and redemption. It's a masterfully-written debut from a bold new literary voice.