From Schoolboy to Soldier: The Correspondence and Journals of Edward Stanley Abbot, 1853- 1863 reveals the short but meaningful life of a mid-19th century New England lad. From age 12 to 21, Stanley Abbot faithfully wrote entries in his personal journal and letters to family members, describing his daily life, sharing his thoughts about work at a Boston, MA wholesale druggist, school days at Phillips (Exeter, NH) Academy and Harvard, and discussing challenging relationships with father and elder brother Edwin. Young Stanley wrote of struggles with himself, siblings, parents, and the world as he grew into a responsible adult and an officer in the Union Army, following in the footsteps of his renowned Great Granduncle Nathan Hale. He wrote his younger brother, sister and mother about his reasons for joining the Union Army, the routines of camp life, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Mud March, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the long march from Virginia to Gettysburg where his unit engaged in battle near Little Round Top where he succumbed to a mortal wound on July 8, 1863. He was 21 years old. Stanley wrote of his longing to become an acknowledged writer and, now, with the publication of this book 150 years later, his exceptional skill is brought to light by author Quincy S. Abbot, his grand-nephew.