Life in the Confederate Army

If you're looking for one book that puts the political aspects of the Civil War in perspective from the standpoint of the common citizen, this book is it. William Watson did not own slaves, he was not even an American citizen, but he joined the Louisiana 3rd Infantry Regiment and fought for the right of the Southern States to secede and pursue their own individual destiny. The book clearly shows that most Southern soldiers fought for that right and the Union soldiers fought to preserve the Union. As a dispute that is settled at the point of a sword will remain to be arbitrated at a later date, so almost 200 years later the issue is still before the American people and the division between the two positions grows more tense and combative. I find it interesting that this book was chosen by the editors of Time-Life in 1960 to commemorate the Centennial of the war, and now that we have passed the sesquicentennial, we still have not contemplated the lesson history is trying to teach us.

In 1861 William Watson, a native Scot who had established himself as a Louisiana businessman, enlisted in the 3rd Louisiana infantry although still a British subject. In 1887 he penned his memoirs "to give", he said, "a simple narrative of my experience in a war campaign". Far from simple, Watson's work clearly and forcefully describes his experiences with the 3rd Louisiana infantry in battles at Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge while depicting the mundane aspects of camp life and providing delightful and colorful character sketches of fellow soldiers and officers, including the legendary General Ben McCulloch.

Watson offers much more than the story of a soldier's life. He also provides an excellent depiction of southern society undergoing the crisis of secession and the tumultuous early years of the Civil War.

One reviewer on Amazon gives this comment:

Of the hundreds of books, manuscripts and articles I have read during decades of study on the Civil War this book tops the list of personal narratives. It is eloquently written but highly readable. ANY student of the American Civil War should own and re read Watson' s book often. My only regret is that so many years have passed without my knowledge of this account.

An excerpt from another review:

I stumbled across this after devouring Sam Watkins' COMPANY AYTCH and wanting more of the same. While this is a first person account of a Confederate soldier, don't confuse this with the more entertaining COMPANY AYTCH.

Watson was an Irish mechanical engineer who made his living repairing cotton gins prior to the Civil War... Unlike COMPANY AYTCH, the writing style here is more formal. Gone is the friendly tone and one of superiority is used. Watson complains throughout the book about everything he encounters... His experience at Wilson's Creek is interesting. And the demeanor of the populace of New Orleans while occupied by Northern troops is a neat insight as well...

If you're a re-enactor, forget this one. It won't help your impression. If you're a Civil War buff, there are better books out there. But, if you're looking for an insight of what the South thought during that war, this may fill the bill.

An excerpt from the book shows a view of the war not generally taught today:

A great many of the plantations and slaves in the South were heavily mortgaged to Northern capitalists. The greater part of the cotton produced in the South was shipped to Europe in Northern-owned ships and through Northern agencies, and many of the Southern planters were entirely in the hands of Northern capitalists. It was also said that many of the merchants in the South were heavily indebted to Northern houses of business. It was also held that the Northern States, having a majority in Congress, imposed tariffs, and so managed legislation as to cause the whole of the trade between the South and Europe to pass through Northern agencies, which secured from it heavy tariffs and commissions. It was also held out somewhat bitterly that, while the South did the hard work, took the responsibility or odium of being slaveholders, and produced the exports, and maintained the prosperity of the nation, the North derived the benefit, and pocketed the lion’s share of the profits. Whether these allegations were just or partly so, they had no doubt considerable effect in causing some of the more influential men to regard with favour any movement for the dissolution of the Union, and perhaps, by some of them, as one way of getting rid of their liabilities.

In the town and county of Baton Rouge the public feeling and popular vote had been in favour of the Union and constitutional party, and the popular feeling was strongly in favour of Union, but the politicians and State Government were Democratic, and favoured secession.

The editors at Time-Life chose this book as one of the volumes of the Collector's Library of the Civil War. It is available in a leather-bound edition with gilded gold edges and also in paperback and digital formats. It is included as one of the volumes on the DVD of our Collector's Library set.