PDF Theology Brewed in an African Pot by Agbonkhianmeghe E Orobator in History

Description

Revealing the mind-set of a soldier seared by the horrors of combat even as he kept faith in his cause; Last to Leave the Field showcases the private letters of Ambrose Henry Hayward; a Massachusetts native who served in the 28th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.Hayward’s service; which began with his enlistment in the summer of 1861 and ended three years later following his mortal wounding at the Battle of Pine Knob in Georgia; took him through a variety of campaigns in both the Eastern and Western theaters of the war. He saw action in five states; participating in the battles of Antietam; Chancellorsville; and Gettysburg as well as in the Chattanooga and Atlanta campaigns. Through his letters to his parents and siblings; we observe the early idealism of the young recruit; and then; as one friend after another died beside him; we witness how the war gradually hardened him. Yet; despite the increasing brutality of what would become America’s costliest conflict; Hayward continually reaffirmed his faith in the Union cause; reenlisting for service late in 1863.Hayward’s correspondence takes us through many of the war’s most significant developments;including the collapse of slavery and the enforcement of Union policy toward Southern civilians. Also revealed are Hayward’s feelings about Confederates; his assessments of Union political and military leadership; and his attitudes toward desertion; conscription; forced marches; drilling; fighting; bravery; cowardice; and comradeship.Ultimately; Hayward’s letters reveal the emotions—occasionally guarded but more often expressed with striking candor—of a soldier who at every battle resolved to be; as one comrade described him; “the first to spring forward and the last to leave the field.”Timothy J. Orr is an assistant professor of military history at Old Dominion University in Norfolk; Virginia.