Why Is Samuel Watkins Important

In the Civil War, both Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee played major roles in how it turned out. They have many similarities and differences, and the author of the essay that will be analysed, Bruce Catton, brought out and explained those similarities and differences. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee come from completely different backgrounds, Grant growing up on the Western frontier, while Lee was a tidewater Virginian. Catton’s purpose for contrasting them is to show their obvious differences, but the reason for comparing them afterwards is to show the similarities that aren’t as apparent as their differences, by saying how similar they were on the battlefield, despite their contrasting childhoods and views.

In “Company Aytch,” Sam R. Watkins first wrote this book to describe his experience at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, in 1864. As a soldier in Company H of the First Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment, CSA, Watkins witnessed the panorama of war in grand scale as he marched and fought with the hard luck Confederate Army of Tennessee across the Western Theater. His honest, vivid, and dramatic memoir, published in the 1880s, is a classic that conveys the horrors, humor, and realism of the Civil War, and the firsthand experience of being in this war

This Republic of Suffering: Death and The American Civil War exposes a different perspective of the Civil War that is sparsely discussed and challenges the reader to broaden their views and beliefs of the war. Author, Drew Gilpin Faust, conducted nine chapters, or the new and transformed ars moriendi, primarily focusing on the past and present of the Civil War and its soldiers.

Throughout history, there have been people whose names and faces have become synonymous with the time periods in which they lived. For example, Julius Caesar is synonymous with the late Roman Republic and George Washington is synonymous with the American Revolution. Just like these two men, the name Robert E. Lee has become synonymous with the American Civil War. Not only did Lee rise to become the most important and recognizable person in the Southern Confederacy, but his honor and virtuous acts during and after the war made him a hero to modern-day Americans. Even though he fought for what many consider the morally erroneous side of the war, the virtues of his character have made him a figure in American history

James M. McPherson, author of For Cause and Comrades, uses more than 25,000 unaltered letters and closely 250 private journals from Civil War soldiers—both Union and Confederate—in his attempt to explain what possessed these men to endure the roaring, gruesome chaos of war. What better way to express the motivation behind fighting than words straight from the pens of the men who were physically there and experienced the Civil War to its fullest? I personally feel as though McPherson succeeded in his explanation of the different driving forces that kept each man going during these difficult years of battle. The Wall Street Journal describes McPherson’s work as “an extraordinary book, full of fascinating details and moving self-portraits.”

. . . Like I was losing myself, everything spilling out” (O’Brien 202). Provided with only laconic, expository definitions, an audience cannot truly feel the pains of war. O’Brien utilizes descriptions which evoke all the senses and submerge the audience in the unique and powerful sensations of war. Witnessing war’s pains through the familiar tactile crunch of an ornament or the splash of liquid spilling, the audience can immediately understand the inconceivable pressure placed on the soldier’s injured body. O’Brien continues, “All I could do was scream. . . . I tightened up and squeezed. . . . then I slipped under for a while” (203). His abrupt syntax and terse diction conveys a quickness to these events. Not bothering with extraneous adornment, his raw images transport the audience to the urgency of the moment and the severity of the pain. Now supplied with an eyewitness’s perspective of war’s injuries, the audience can begin to recognize the significance of the suffering. O’Brien tells his audience, “Tinny sounds get heightened and distorted. . . . There was rifle fire somewhere off to my right, and people yelling, except none of it seemed real anymore. I smelled myself dying” (203). In the same frame, O’Brien paints the rumbling chaos of the big war juxtaposed with the slow death of the small individual. His description emphasizes the purposeless discord and confusion of war and seeks to condemn its disorder. He argues that war’s lack of

When the civil war began, William McKinley proved himself to be a good soldier; he rose up the ranks from a private to a brevet major quickly. McKinley’s had military experience, which some Americans considered a crucial informal qualification to be

With intricate detail the author explains these events as frightening and overwhelmingly difficult to tolerate. Beah, exposed to combat at age 12, was traumatized by battle and portrays details of the horrifying events through imagery. “When the rebels finally came I was cooking... My heart was beating faster than it ever had. Each gunshot seemed to cling to the beat of my heart.”

Boom! A cannon whizzed past my ear, nearly taking off my head! I looked around and saw death, from both sides, but mainly I saw more fatalities in men dressed in Union uniforms. After retreating, the general, whose name I found out to be Ulysses S. Grant, said that we had lost this battle, the Battle of Bull Run. He said we were located in the state of Virginia, and that we were to travel south, towards this state’s capital, Richmond. For almost an entire year, we regained our strength, tended

The rather grave period from 1861-1865 was known as the Civil War. The Civil War stands as an American phenomenon and important significance to the history of our country (qtd. in Stout, “Baptism in Blood”). One of the bloodiest and most notorious battles occurred in 1863, and was known as the Battle of Chancellorsville. The battle was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, and was considered one of the Confederacy’s greatest victories as well as, arguably, the best victory for General Robert E. Lee. Another significance of this battle is the death of the famous Stonewall Jackson, which devastated Lee. This essay will explain the events that happened during the 1863 Battle of Chancellorsville.

“They were two strong men, these oddly different generals, and they represented the strengths of two conflicting currents that, through them, had come into final collision (Catton).” Everyone has differences. Yet, everyone has similarities. Such two men were Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant, two great generals during the American Civil War. From early on, it was obvious that Lee and Grant were as unlike as anyone could imagine. Their backgrounds, values, and ambitions were precisely the opposite. However, despite their distinctive contrasts, they both had the courage and perseverance that distinguished them from the rest of the people of the United States.

Picture a scene of complete and utter chaos, a scene of terror and fear. Now imagine that you are in the thick of it, except that scene is the Siege of Petersburg. Around you are the sounds of muskets firing, hundreds at a time, their smoke clouding your vision, the smell of burning gunpowder filling the air, and the boom of artillery as it reigns down around you. You are a Confederate soldier hiding behind the fortifications of what remains of Petersburg, vastly outnumbered by the seemingly never-ending supply of Union Yankees. You wonder whether you will make it out with your life, or become yet another rebel casualty to the failing Confederate cause. “When will this end?” you ask yourself. Little do you know, it is far from over…291...291 more days of the brutality that we call war. However horrific, war brings good things as well. In the case of Petersburg, forcing the Confederate surrender.

Sam R. Watkins was a Confederate soldier from Columbia, Tennessee. At age twenty-one, Watkins joined the First Tennessee Regiment along with one hundred and nineteen other young men and boys. He was one of only seven men to survive every one of its battles. He writes a memoir twenty years after being in the war about his experience as a private. Watkins juxtaposes stories of horror and gruesome death with humorous memories throughout his four years in the war.

In Bruce Catton’s historical essay of “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts”, he focuses on the two generals who led opposing armies during the Civil War. Bruce was a respected journalist and his ascendancy influenced the American Civil War. The backbone of the Confederate forces, better known as Robert E. Lee, led the Army of Northern Virginia. Ulysses S. Grant, who became the commander in chief of the Union troops in 1864, would be the commander who finally ended the war. Despite the differences amongst Grant and Lee, they were both exceptional generals of their own armies.

Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee are two of the most operational military leaders in American history. These men have become figurative of the two nation-states at battle through the Civil War. Both had very dissimilar backgrounds and behaviors that instigated them to contrast in their military headship and accomplishments. Catton exposes the dissimilar headship styles of both generals and then presents the strength of two contradictory currents that lead into a final collision, the Civil War. Catton’s examination underlines many areas of the two generals. For example, Lee from Virginia has an old-fashioned principles, culture and tradition. Lee believed in the idea that having unequal, set social categories provided a benefit to humanity.