Bound to be a soldier

the long version

"An untutored Pennsylvania farmer, James T. Miller was thirty-one years old when he left his wife and three children to serve in the Union Army at the outbreak of the Civil War. Although his writing was far from polished, he was nevertheless blessed with descriptive and evocative powers that shine through the letters he wrote home.". "After joining the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry, Miller saw action at Gettysburg, Cedar Mountain, and Chancellorville. He died in 1864 at the battle of Peachtree Creek, just before the fall of Atlanta." "Drawing us close to Miller's heart and mind, these letters present a powerful sense of an ordinary soldier's experience in its entirety. His descriptions of his fellow soldiers before, during, and after battle are particularly striking"--BOOK JACKET.