This compelling anthology, compiled and edited by Clarence Poe, recreates life in the South during that terrible struggle, both on and off the battlefield. Included is a wealth of first-hand materials that bring the conflict to vivid life; wartime litters from soldiers on the battlefield, in hospitals and prisons; reminiscences of soldiers who survived, diary entries of life behind the lines, journals kept by refugees and family members on the homefront and many more revealing documents. In addition to primary sources, the volume also includes commentaries by children and grandchildren who recall, in a later era, stories told to them by older relatives. The result is an intimate, engrossing record of the War Between the States that will fascinate not only Civil War buffs but general readers as well.