The Ewing family Civil War letters /

George Henry Ewing of Stockbridge, Michigan, enlisted in the 20th Michigan Infantry Volunteers in July 1862; his first cousin, James M. Ewing, had enlisted in December 1861 in the 12th Michigan. George Ewing's letters to his parents and to his sister Susan, and a smaller number of letters from James to Susan, make up the contents of this book. George's regiment fought during the battle of Fredericksburg before it was transferred to the Vicksburg area. George was killed at Fort Sanders, near Knoxville, on November 29, 1863. James, who served in the West, was also at Vicksburg and finished the war campaigning in Arkansas. Green (religious studies and Hebrew language studies, Michigan State Univ.) edited these letters, heirlooms owned by octogenarian neighbors, transcribing them literally and adding explanatory notes. These Michigan farm boys, one of whom wrote "i don't no wat is a going on," need considerable help in conveying their wartime experiences, and some letters require sounding out to penetrate their phonetic spelling. Neither the Ewings nor their editor make a notable contribution to Civil War scholarship, but the book contains source material of value to research libraries. J. Y. Simon; Southern Illinois University at Carbondale