A Fierce, Wild Joy

by Wood, Edward J.

• ISBN13: 9781572335998
• ISBN10: 1572335998
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-10-30
• Publisher: Univ of Tennessee Pr

Summary

The ninety letters in this collection document the Civil War career of Col. Edward Jesup Wood, an officer of the 48th Indiana. Evocative and rich in detail, A Fierce, Wild Joy offers a view of the war from an officer's perspective and provides important insights into the day-to-day administration of a Civil War regiment. Wood was born in Florida to a Connecticut father and slave-owning mother, and orphaned in early youth. He was raised in New England to be an abolitionist, and at the age of fifteen he entered Dartmouth College. His military career began in 1861, and over the course of the war Wood's regiment participated in several key battles and campaigns, including Corinth, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and the March to the Sea. Thoughtful, intelligent, and articulate, Wood was a keen observer of details during his time in the Western Theater. His letters vividly bring the war to life as he describes the events of some of its most important campaigns. His change in perspective over time is evident: readers will witness Wood's naive optimism for a quick and sure victory transform to dawning realization about the long haul and horrors of war. Readers will appreciate Wood's broad view of the military campaign, political exigencies surrounding the war, and the effects of war on both North and South. A stark reminder of the war's costs are emphasized by Wood's later tragic life. He returned home and committed suicide before his fortieth birthday. A Fierce, Wild Joy includes biographical essays that put Wood in context and aptly remind readers that many who served in the war did not go home to peace and happiness.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Introduction	p. xiii
The War Is to Be of Short Duration: Organizing in Goshen, January-February 1862	p. 1
The Provost Marshal Is Almost a Military Dictator: Policing Paducah, Kentucky, February-April 1862	p. 9
A Barren Sceptre in Our Gripe: The Advance on Corinth, Mississippi, April-June 1862	p. 27
A Fierce Wild Joy Exhilarated and Filled Me: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth, July-October 1862	p. 45
Our Progress Is So Slow: The Advance South, November 1862-January 1863	p. 67
Disappointed, Sick, and Disgusted: Sick in Memphis, February-April 1863	p. 81
They Have Seen Nothing Like It: The Vicksburg Campaign, April-July 1863	p. 89
The Vicissitudes Attendant on a Soldier's Career: Vicksburg Idleness, August-September 1863	p. 115
The Grandest Military Movement of the War: The Chattanooga Campaign, October-December 1863	p. 129
I Write by a Cheerful Coal Fire in a Grate: Alabama Sojourn, December 1863-January 1864	p. 145
War for the Purification and Sanctification of the Nation: Huntsville Duty, March-June 1864	p. 159
The Best Soldiers in the World: Georgia on the Etowah, July-November 1864	p. 187
My Cool Veterans: The March through Georgia, December 1864-February 1865	p. 215
Postscript: Postwar Life in Goshen, 1865-1873	p. 229
Letters by Edward J. Wood Published in Goshen Newspapers	p. 237
Letter of Robert Corley to Edward J. Wood	p. 245
Notes	p. 247
Index	p. 287
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.