Book Review by Neil P. Chatelain, Assistant Professor of History, Lone Star College – North Harris:

James C. Hale and Benjamin Petree both lived in Missouri with their families at the start of the U.S. Civil War. Their letters, rescued from destruction 160 years after they put ink to paper, tell remarkable tales that put the conflict into real perspective.

Hale volunteered for the U.S. army early in the war, serving in Missouri and Arkansas, marching across Missouri chasing Confederate partisan forces, manning the fortifications at Helena, Arkansas, and working as a member of the Veterans Reserve Corps. Petree was drafted in 1864 and marched in General William T. Sherman’s Carolinas campaign before participating in the Grand Review in June 1865 in Washington D.C. and finishing his service in garrison duty in Kentucky and Missouri. 

Though the two saw little combat, their letters offer a striking example of what loyal Missouri men fought for and worried about as the war continued. Their encapsulating letters speak to their desire for reunion with loved ones, their worries about combat and illness, and the fractures across wartime Missouri. Of particular interest is Hale’s letters as a member of the Veteran Reserve Corps, one of the few collections documenting how disabled and wounded soldiers augmented U.S. military strength. 

From the Mississippi River to Washington D.C., and from small bands of guerillas to the largest armies, Hale’s and Petree’s letters, crafted together with readable commentary and insightful context from editor Tonya McQuade, provide invaluable insight into the daily lives of soldiers, how they perceived the United States Civil War, and how that conflict impacted their families in Missouri.

- Neil P. Chatelain, Assistant Professor of History, Lone Star College – North Harris.