Courage Under Fire

Compared to most wars of the twentieth century, the casualty rates during the Civil War were appalling. The accuracy of the rifled musket turned many frontal assaults into virtual suicide missions, as witnessed at Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and countless other charges. As men revealed in their diaries and letters, the spectre of death rarely left their minds. Yet ordinary soldiers, North and South, endured and fought on. Sword, the author of several works on the Civil War, offers numerous profiles of men who stayed in the fray and stood their ground repeatedly, despite experiencing constant fear, even terror. Among the moving stories told here is that of a young Confederate spy who defiantly faced execution, a Pennsylvania colonel who choked back his fears and stood firm during the massive artillery barrage on the final day at Gettysburg, and an Illinois lieutenant, mortally wounded, who dictated a last letter to his wife filled with hope for his country. Sword also provides interesting ruminations on the nature of courage and its companion, cowardice.

Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.