The Soldier's Pen

[GermanDraftee]

I am currently reading Robert E. Bonner's book, "The Soldier's Pen: Firsthand impressions of the Civil War", 2006, Hill & Wang, New York. (A Christmas present from someone who knows me well, and loves me anyway.) The contents, letters and hand-drawn images by CW soldiers, are taken from the Gilder Lehrman Collection, archived in the New York Historical Society. There are many fascinating images, including several watercolors by Pvt Henry Berckhoff, of the 8th New York "German Rifles".* I am posting this to give anyone who is fascinated by images of the ACW a heads-up. The images range from simple & crude, to detailed and (comparitively) precise. All are wonderful and powerful in their own way. I do not have the technology to scan any of these images to post for discussion, assuming that doing so would not violate a copywrite. In lieu of that, I am recommending this book. I believe many of the images are published here for the first time.

*For Jan-Henrik:
Henry Berckhoff was born in Leidingen, Brunswick, on 21 November, 1840.

[MBBursig]

Re: The Soldier's Pen

I purchased the book a year or two back at the NY Hist. Society. The images are great! It was a great buy!

Gut Heil!