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A Broken Regiment: The 16th Connecticut's Civil War (Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions Of The American Civil War)

A Broken Regiment recounts the tragic history of one of the Civil War's most ill-fated Union military units. Organized in the late summer of 1862, the 16th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry was unprepared for battle a month later, when it entered the fight at Antietam. The results were catastrophic: nearly a quarter of the men were killed or wounded, and Connecticut's 16th panicked and fled the field. In the years that followed, the regiment participated in minor skirmishes before surrendering en masse in North Carolina in 1864. Most of its members spent months in southern prison camps, including the notorious Andersonville stockade, where disease and starvation took the lives of over one hundred members of the unit.The struggles of the 16th led survivors to reflect on the true nature of their military experience during and after the war, and questions of cowardice and courage, patriotism and purpose, were often foremost in their thoughts. Over time, competing stories emerged of who they were, why they endured what they did, and how they should be remembered. By the end of the century, their collective recollections reshaped this troubling and traumatic past, and the "unfortunate regiment" emerged as "The Brave Sixteenth," their individual memories and accounts altered to fit the more heroic contours of the Union victory.The product of over a decade of research, Lesley J. Gordon's A Broken Regiment illuminates this unit's complex history amid the interplay of various, and often competing, voices. The result is a fascinating and heartrending story of one regiment's wartime and postwar struggles.

Series: Conflicting Worlds: New Dimensions of the American Civil War

Hardcover: 416 pages

Publisher: LSU Press (November 10, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0807157309

ISBN-13: 978-0807157305

Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #774,219 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #65 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War > Regimental Histories #7684 in Books > History > Military > United States #14455 in Books > History > Americas > United States > State & Local

One of the most vital bits of information which can come from Civil War history are the stories of the regiments who fought on the front lines and gave their all for the sake of their country. Some regiments are more memorable than others such as the 54th Massachusetts and the 20th Maine. Then there are the regiments whose deeds are known, but more well-known through the work of historians who have worked tirelessly to bring their heroism to our attention. In A Broken Regiment, Lesley Gordon has accomplished this feat in remembrance of the 16th Connecticut and showcases not only the history of the 16th Connecticut but other aspects about the state during the Civil War. Lesley J. Gordon is a professor of history at the University of Akron. She is also the author of General George E. Pickett in Life and Legend and is the coeditor of Inside the Confederate Nation: Essays in Honor of Emory M. Thomas. She is also an avid book reviewer and has authored many articles. She is the current editor of the scholarly journal Civil War History. When people usually think about the 16th Connecticut, one event comes to mind: Antietam. While it was their first major action in a major battle, Gordon spends the rest of the novel describing what these men accomplished throughout the war. She opens her work with short biographies on some of the participants in the regiment including Jacob Bauer, Henry L. Pasco and many others. After a brief description of the regiment’s muster and their life at Camp Williams, Gordon moves to Antietam where the regiment’s participation is described in great detail. After reading through Gordon’s description of the 16th Connecticut at Antietam, I can easily say that it is one of the best accounts of a regiment in a battle I have read in quite some time.

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