Ron Field

After all these decades, the "Men-at-Arms" series probably remains one of Osprey Publishing's most basic products, and with 500-plus separate titles having been published, there is no claiming that all of them are essential. What lifts this particular title above the mean is the period, the crash emergency period of the early days of the American Civil War, and secondly, Field has collected a lot of first-person accounts of how the Union militiamen and new recruits responded to their new garb (often very underwhelmed!). Besides that this booklet also does a good job of documenting the period when Union troops were as likely to serve in the field wearing grey as blue, and when "uniform" was more of an aspiration than a reality (that was also true of the Confederate forces).… (mere)

Civil War buffs will enjoy this well-illustrated guide to the soldiers - Billy Yank and Johnny Reb - who waged war from 1861 to 1865. The book describes the weapons, equipment and training each received and then relates how they fared in three separate battles. The text is interesting and informative. Then too the 80-page book features many full-color maps, illustrations and battle scenes that bring the subject to life. It's an appealing, up-close-and-personal look at combat as experienced by the common Civil War soldier.

Mike O. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

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