The Fiery Trail: A Union Officer's Account of Sherman's Last Campaigns

xliv, 238, [6] pp. 8vo. "Major Thomas W. Osborn was chief of artillery in the Federal Army of the Tennessee. His journal and letters were written during Sherman's campaigns from Atlanta to Savannah and through the Carolinas. Osborn's eyewitness account of the Civil War is significant particularly for its dispassionate social commentary and for his insights into Generals W.T. Sherman and O.O. Howard. The major was, as his remarks attest, a keen observer of officers, of the army rank and file, and their areas of operation. He soberly recorded the devestation and the reasons for the campaign. He also reflected the antipathy toward South Carolina that prevailed among the men and their commanders, writing with a strange mixture of admiration and contempt. He was continually fascinated by the destruction--the actions of the "bummers," for example, and the recurring fires--yet his description remains objective, almost impersonal. The editors' notes, including excerpts from other contemporary accounts, perfectly complement Osborn's narrative."