Deepens our understanding of what it was like to be a common soldier in the Confederate army and live through the years after defeat. Benson fought loyally for the south, went to prison and escaped, then survived Reconstruction.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Growing up in Hamburg -- Fort Sumter -- The Seven Days -- Second Manassas -- Sharpsburg -- Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville -- Wartime Augusta -- The wilderness and Spotsylvania -- From Point Lookout to Elmira Prison Camp -- Through enemy country -- Campaign for Savannah -- The lines at Petersburg -- The emergence of the lost cause -- The promise of the new South -- New causes, new campaigns -- The Confederate's burden.