Ò. . . offers an unsurpassed chronicle of the war in the West.Ó ÑRegister of the Kentucky Historical SocietyÒThis eyewitness account brings a better understanding to a conflict that brought a nation to its knees.Ó ÑHistorical Media ReviewÒ. . . an exceptional Civil War narrative. It has value for the military and literary historian.Ó ÑWar, Literature, and the ArtsThe letters and diary of Major James Austin Connolly, 123rd Illinois Infantry, constitute an unsurpassed record of Civil War campaigning in the West. Connolly had a flair for narrative, an eye for people and places, and a smooth and facile style. His running account of the three years he spent in the Army of the Cumberland affords a realistic picture of day-to-day soldieringÑof rough, spare living in the field, of boredom and fun in camp, of seemingly aimless scouts, and of the high excitement of battle. From the date of his enlistment until the fall of 1864, Connolly wrote voluminous letters to his fiancŽe, later his wife, Mary Dunn. After letter-writing proved difficult, he began to keep a diary, which he intended to transmute into letters when he had leisure. If the letters were written, they have not been preserved; the diary more than makes up for their absence.