Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War
by Sam R. Watkins
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sam R. WatkinsEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-11-01
ISBN: 0743255410
Number of pages: 256
Publisher: Touchstone
Book Reviews of Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War
Book Review: THE Best recollection of the Civil War I've Ever Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Sam Watkins style of writing makes this one of the most enjoyable books on the Civil War I have ever read! (And I have done a considerable amount of reading and research using soldier's diaries and memoirs). He was a born writer and this work holds it own against the works of Walt Whitman or Mark Twain. Watkins has a unique way of telling a story. Even when he relates the details of the deaths of friends who's bodies were often blown to bits while standing right next to him, then had to be left, dead or dying, on the battlefield, he does so in such a way that is touching, even heartbreaking, but not gory. He does not dwell on these facts. I found myself not wanting to put this book down. Watkins' style of humor keeps this from becoming just another story relating the horrors of the Civil War.
Being a Christian strongly influenced Watkins' personal behavior throughout the war years. He tells of rushing up to the body of a Union Soldier killed in that day's battle to take his shoes (his own were in shreds). However, when he looked down and saw that the dead man's eyes seemed to be looking straight into his; he was unable to remove anything from the body. As badly as he needed shoes,clothing and the man's personal effects; he could not bring himself to steal from a dead man. On another occason, he found that some men in his company were planning to steal a pig from an elderly woman living near their encampment- one who had fed him on a previous occasion. He refused to be a part of the theft and went back to camp. When he found that they had indeed gone through with the theft and had taken her only souce of meat - he went back to her house, apologized and paid her for the animal.
Needless to say, he went on to become a minister after the war. Watkins was a man of morality, of great devotion to his God, his family and his Country. You will NOT be disappointed with this book. His unique brand of humor carries the reader through the worst of times and brings you to the other side of this great war with a greater understanding of the effects it had on the lives of everyday people; soldiers and civilians. Watkins never gave up his belief in the South's right to fight for their way of life. He was NOT promoting slavery - he simply felt that the Southern cause was right. For him, it was about State's Rights, Home, and Family. A great read!! (It took me FOREVER to figure out that "Company Aytch" is "Company "H"!!!! How silly I felt when it finally dawned on me!
Summary of Co. Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War
Early in May 1861, twenty-one-year-old Sam R. Watkins of Columbia, Tennessee, joined the First Tennessee Regiment, Company H, to fight for the Confederacy. Of the 120 original recruits in his company, Watkins was one of only seven to survive every one of its battles, from Shiloh to Nashville. Twenty years later, with a "house full of young 'rebels' clustering around my knees and bumping about my elbows," he wrote this remarkable account of "Co. Aytch" -- its common foot soldiers, its commanders, its Yankee enemies, its victories and defeats, and its ultimate surrender on April 26, 1865.Co. Aytch is the work of a natural storyteller who balances the horror of war with an irrepressible sense of humor and a sharp eye for the lighter side of battle. Among Civil War memoirs, it is considered a classic -- a living testament to one man's enduring humanity, courage, and wisdom in the midst of death and destruction.
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