Some incredible content from a Confederate soldier in the 39th Georgia Infantry near Vicksburg in March, 1863. At this time Grant was flailing as he attempted to get at Vicksburg. He conducted a series of attempts to circumvent the Mississippi or construct alternative water pathways so as to get at Vicksburg. When Grant finally makes it south of Vicksburg and moves in on the fortress city, one can’t help but…

The process of “hardening” (via the experience of battle over a period of time) has been analyzed by historians and interpreted in several different ways. James M. McPherson saw the stress (combat fatigue) of combat as a breaking down of the soldier’s senses (“the nerve to endure”) thus subduing the awareness to suffering. That though they saw horrible things, they could rise above it and McPherson stressed the importance of…