This selection of letters, speeches, journals, and eyewitness accounts of the Civil War presents the views of soldiers, nurses, and political and military leaders from the Union side of the war. This anthology opens and closes with inaugural addresses of President Lincoln and looks at the daily lives of Union soldiers in camp, on the battlefield, and in hospitals. Songs, poetry, photographs, and illustrations round out the text.

Letters, journals, and government documents provide a glimpse of life during the Civil War from the Confederate point of view. Among selections from military leaders are General Beauregard's demand for the surrender of Fort Sumter and General Robert E. Lee's farewell to his troops. This volume focuses on the soldier's life, in camp and on the battlefield, and includes songs and historic photographs.