Bluegrass Confederate : the headquarters diary of Edward O. Guerrant /

Detailing the Civil War experiences of a well-educated young staff officer from Kentucky, this journal is a valuable new addition to Southern history. What sets Guerrant's diary apart from others of the genre are his wonderfully descriptive and intelligent observations of virtually everything he experienced as he became inured to the harsh realities of a brutal conflict. He spent most of the war campaigning with Confederate cavalry in the side-show areas of eastern Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, and east Tennessee, attached to the commands of generals Humphrey Marshall, William Preston, George Cosby, and John Hunt Morgan. Readers learn about strong Unionist sentiment in Kentucky, bushwhacking, the customs and culture of Southern mountain folk, Guerrant's disillusionment with his hero Morgan, the multiple shocks of losing two brothers and several close friends in the war, and desperate mountain fighting without adequate supplies in the dead of winter against impossible odds. His description of an overland trip from Abingdon, Virginia, through the Deep South to Mobile, Alabama, is unforgettable. Guerrant was at Saltville, Virginia, in 1864 when black soldiers were massacred. Well edited by independent scholars Davis and Swentor. Highly recommended. All levels. E. M. Thomas; Gordon College