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All for the Union: The Civil War Diary & Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7445
EAN: 9780679738282
Edition: 1st Vintage Civil War Library Ed
ISBN: 0679738282
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: July 28, 1992
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: July 28, 1992
Studio: Vintage
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Editorial Review: All for the Union is the eloquent and moving diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, who enlisted into the Union Army as a private in 1861 and left it four years later as a 23-year-old lieutenant colonel after fighting hard and honorably in battles from Bull Run to Appomattox. Anyone who heard these diaries excerpted on the PBS-TV series The Civil War will recognize his accounts of those campaigns, which remain outstanding for their clarity and detail. Most of all, Rhodes's words reveal the motivation of a common Yankee foot soldier, an otherwise ordinary young man who endured the rigors of combat and exhausting marches, short rations, fear, and homesickness for a salary of $13 a month and the satisfaction of giving "all for the union."
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Neat first-hand view of the Civil War
We have works on the Civil War written by generals (e.g., the memoirs of Ulysses Grant and James Longstreet) and other officers (E. P. Alexander, Moxley Sorrell). However, equally valuable is the view from the bottom, by the foot soldiers. From the Confederate side, the paradigm example is Sam Watkins, "Company Aytch". From the Union side, Elisha Hunt Rhodes fills the bill. He rose through the ranks, and his diaries and letters provide a first-hand, ground-level view of the war in the east. As ... Read More
Rating: - eyes of the Union army--army of the Potomac
Whie the Army of the Potomac suffered the usual soldier hardships we also have to realize these soldiers suffered some very bad generals in comparison to the Army of the Tennessee. We see the participants sense of this in the memoir. It is best placed in the heirarchy of the Civil War memoirs it must be placed beside Sam Watkins's "Co. Aytch." High praoise indeed.
Rating: - A must read for Civil War buffs
Anyone who is interested in the Civil War has to read this book. All for the Union is the diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes and covers the four years that he spent in the Union army. Entry by entry, the reader can watch Rhodes go from an enthusiastic young man, to hard, weary soldier. Appalled by the death and destruction early in the book, by the end, laying down to sleep between the dead and dying barely justifies a comment. A wonderful read.
Rating: - Only A Boy
If you are interested in more than big names and big battles this book is well worth reading. Elisha Hunt Rhodes shares his experiences from his enlistment as a boy having never been away from home until his mustering out as a man having earned the rank of Col. He writes in an honest straight forward manner about every aspect of daily life. His strong belief in duty, sense of right and wrong and his ever important sense of humor show in everything he writes. He's an optimist that made it through the ... Read More
Rating: - Following the footsteps
It isn't easy to find quality diaries written so well from the Civil War sometimes; although this book will rank with in the top 10. Popularized and quoted often in Ken Burn's Civil War series on PBS, Rhodes' book about his life as a soldier come to life. Rhodes brings the excitement and patriotic fervor of being a new recruit in the 2nd Rhode Island Infantry early in the war. This patriotic spirit never dies through out his writing. Many times he writes about the daily hardships such as bad weather, ... Read More
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