Three Years with the 92nd Illinois - Hardcover

John M. King

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 081171599X ISBN 13: 9780811715997

Publisher: Stackpole Books, 1999

Synopsis

*8-page b/w photo section
* 6 x 9
* Gives a new perspective of the battle of Chickamauga
* Includes account of the little-known Nickojack Massacre

In 1862 John M. King joined the 92nd Illinois Mounted Infantry. During his service for the Union he traveled 15,000 miles and participated in 33 engagements. A newspaper owner and editor, he naturally recorded his experiences using an inquisitive, often wry style. Throughout he registered the comic along with the tragic: his drunken commanders, the infighting among his comrades, and the often unjust disparities between officers and soldiers. This uncommonly literate diary, meticulously edited, is a hidden gem that will appeal to anyone who has ever taken an interest in the Civil War.

Claire Swedberg, a newspaper journalist, is also the author of Work Commando 311/I: American Paratroopers Become Forced Laborers for the Nazis and In Enemy Hands: Personal Accounts of Those Taken Prisoner in World War II.

About this title

From Library Journal:

King became a corporal in the 92nd Illinois, which began as a Union infantry unit and was later converted to mounted infantry and equipped with Spencer rifles, making it one of the best-armed units in the army. A trained journalist, King wrote his diary as a reporter would, with attention to time and place and great detail about life in combat for the Union soldier. Officers, he said, were no better than buck privates and often much worse when they assigned men in their commands to dangerous and unnecessary tasks. Disease and infections were common problems in the army, and King experienced his share. Swedberg, a newspaper journalist and author of In Enemy Hands: Personal Accounts of Those Taken Prisoner in World War II (Stackpole, 1998), does a thorough job of providing the reader with background information throughout the diary. Readers with little more than a basic knowledge of the Civil War can read this with a reasonably clear understanding. Highly recommended for both academic and public libraries.AGrant A. Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:

Civil War diaries are sprouting like rhubarb these days. This one is highly worthwhile. King, the son of a farmer, enlisted in the newly formed 92d Illinois Volunteer Infantry in late summer of 1862 and served to the end of the war. His diary covers his service through the 1864 Atlanta Campaign and reflects postwar polishing for publication in the newspaper he edited. It is an admirable document of the Union infantryman's life, complete with good and bad officers, just and unjust punishments, rations and clothing that were frequently a greater menace than Confederate bullets, and much else. Much of King's combat experience, including the nightmarish Battle of Chickamauga, was with Col. J. G. Wilder's famous mounted brigade, which was armed with Spencer repeating rifles. King also adds to our knowledge of certain higher-ranking officers: Gordon Granger comes across as a self-indulgent martinet, and George "Pap" Thomas' reputation is burnished even brighter than before. A fit recruit to the ranks of Civil War collections. Roland Green

About this edition

• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 081171599X
• ISBN 13: 9780811715997
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 2
• Editor: Claire E. Swedberg