Working at a history-laden such as Gettysburg, PA, it's hard not to get drawn in. Those who know me know that I am a history fanatic, and since I have been working with Civil War history these last few months, I have been drawn to the stories of the common soldiers who fought here at Gettysburg, Confederate and Union. In the course of work here, I have encountered some amazing people and their stories. I am using this blog to highlight some of their stories and some other fascinating items from the era.
Soon after arriving here, I read two works by Bell I. Wiley that really laid the groundwork for myself in thinking about the common soldier (they also were groundbreaking for their time), The Life of Johnny Reb and The Life of Billy Yank. Wiley, mainly by going through their letters, tries to find out what the common soldier was about, North and South.
Wiley once said that "History is people", and I strongly believe that myself, and will try to exhibit that history on this blog.
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