"The classic Co. Aytch has reigned as one of the most memorable and honest depictions of the American Civil War since its original publication in 1882. Sam R. Watkins¿s first-hand account of life as a Confederate soldier eloquently captured the realities of war, the humor and pathos of soldiering, and the tragic, historic events in which he participated. Although there have been dozens of versions of Co. Aytch published, this is the first with new material and revisions by Sam Watkins himself. Intending to republish after his first edition sold out, Watkins edited and revised Co. Aytch, adding a new perspective that only came with time. He died before accomplishing his goal. Now more than one hundred years later, Watkins¿s great granddaughter, Ruth Hill Fulton McAllister is fulfilling Watkins¿s dream. Using his yellowed, aged, and pencil-marked copy handed down through different family members, McAllister has crafted a masterpiece that combines the ageless text with Sam Watkins¿s intended revisions. This new edition incorporates actual images of Watkins¿s handwritten additions, all his desired editorial changes, and more than forty images. Desiring to be true to both her ancestor¿s wishes and the sanctity of his classic memoir, McAllister skillfully included Watkins¿s additions and artfully indicated what he would have omitted, leaving the original text intact. The result is a rich, expanded "director¿s cut" version of Co. Aytch, sure to fascinate historians, Civil War enthusiasts, and new readers alike." -- Publisher's description.

At head of title: 1861 vs. 1882. Originally published in 1882. This revised ed. incorporates the author's original desired edits and changes. Includes index.

Virginia [April 14, 1861, vs. April 14, 1882]. "We are one and undivided" ; The bloody chasm ; Eighteen hundred and sixty-one ; Virginia [Camp Cheatham] ; Goodbye, Camp Cheatham ; On the road ; Staunton ; Warm Springs, Virginia ; Standing picket ; Robt. E. Lee ; Cheat mountain ; Sewell mountain ; Romney ; "The death watch" ; Standing picket on the Potomac ; Schwartz and Pfifer ; The court-martial ; Virginia, farewell -- Shiloh. -- Corinth ; Conscripted ; Staff officers ; Rowland shot to death ; Killing a union sharpshooter ; [Colonel Feild] ; [Captail Joe P. Lee] ; Corinth Forsaken -- Tupelo. Graybacks ; The court-martial at Tupelo ; Raiding on roastingears -- Kentucky. We go to Kentucky ; Mumfordsville ; The battle of Perryville: the hardest battle fought during the war ; The retreat out of Kentucky: "Will we never stop...never make a stand?" ; "Tramp, tramp, tramp" ; "Tickets, gentlemen"; Thom Tuck's Rooster ; Poor boys ; Knoxville ; Ah, "sneak" ' [I jine the calvary] -- Murfreesboro. A spy ; Battle at Murfreesboro ; I am wounded ; [Robbing a Dead Yankee] -- Shelbyville. A foot race ; Eating mussels ; "Poor" Berry Morgan ; Wright shot to death with musketry ; Dave Sublett promoted ; To be shot to death with musketry [Down duck river in a canoe] ; "Sheneral Owleydousky" -- Chattanooga ; Back to Chattanooga ; Am visited by my father ; Preachin' ; "Out a larkin"' ; Hanging two spies ; Eating rats ; Swimming the Tennessee with roastingears ; Am detailed to go foraging ; Please pass the butter ; We evacuate Chattanooga ; "The bull of the woods" ; [The brave chaplain] ; Presentiment, or the wing of the angel of death ; [Picket] ; Chickamauga ; After the battle ; A night among the dead -- Missionary ridge. Sergent Tucker and General Wilder ; Moccasin point ; Battle [of Missionary Ridge] above the clouds ; Hog Mitchell ; Battle of missionary ridge ; Good-bye, Tom Webb ; The rear guard ; Chickamauga station ; The battle of Cat Creek ; Ringgold gap ; Cleburne's victory -- Dalton. General Joseph E. Johnson ; Commissaries ; Winter quarters ; Shooting a deserter ; Ten men killed at the mourners' bench ; [Dr. C.T. Quintard] ; Y's you got my hog? ; I pay for swine ; Target shooting: Jim Wesbster kills a rabbit ; Uncle Zack's dream [Uncle Zack and Aunt Daphne] ; Red tape ; I get a furlough -- [Hundred days' battles]. Rocky Face Ridge ; A cavalry charge ; "Falling Back" ; Battle of resacca ; Adairsville-octogon house-the first Tennessee always occupies tight places ; Kennesaw line ; Am detailed to go to the enemy's lines ; June 14 [Pine Mountain-Death of General Leonidas Polk] ; Golgotha Church-Genera; Lucius E. Pol wounded ; "Dead angle"-hell broke loose in Georgia armistice ; Battle of New Hope Church ; Battle of Dallas-General Wm. B. Bate ; [Breckenridge] charges the heights ; Battle of Zion Church-July 4, 1864 ; Kingston ; Cassville ; On the banks of the Chattahoochee ; Removal of General Joseph E. Johnston ; Hood would if he could -- Peachtree Creek [Atlanta]. Hood strikes ; Killing a federal scout ; [An old citizen-Mr. Smith] ; My friends ; Acephalous [A body without limbs-an army without cavalry] ; Battle of July 22, 1864-Atlanta (Hood's first sortie) ; Cleburne's Attack ; The Dutchman's colt ; James Galbreath ; "Faith, Gineral, We'll buy you a batthery" ; Am promoted ; 28th of July at Atlanta ; I visit Montgomery ; A glimmer of sunshine [the hospital] ; The capitol ; Am Arrested ; [Those girls] ; [the talisman] ; [The brave captain] ; How I get back to Atlanta ; Iron and Lead ; Death of Thom Tuck's rooster ; [The federal dirge of the southern confederacy] ; [Old Joe Brown's pets] ; We go after stoneman ; A dead dog ; "Bellum lethale" ; A field hospital ; Glory ; The scout and death [of a Yankee lieutenant] ; Atlanta forsaken -- [Jonesboro]. The battle of Jonesboro ; Death of lieutenant John Whittaker ; Then comes the farce ; Palmetto ; Jeff Davis makes a speech ; Armistice only in name ; A scout ; "What is this rebel doing here?" ; "Look out, boys" ; Am captured -- [Advance to Tennessee]. General hood makes a flank movement ; We capture Dalton ; A men in the well ; Taters [Tescumbia] ; En route for Colombia-the land of promise ; Jim Whitler -- [Battles inTennessee] ; Colombia ; The fiasco at Spring Hill [A fiasco] ; Franklin ; The assault ; Nashville ; A tight place for me ; The army routed -- The surrender. The last act of drama ; Adieu.