The Life of Johnny Reb - Softcover

Wiley, Bell Irvin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807104752 ISBN 13: 9780807104750

Publisher: Louisiana State University Press, 1989

Synopsis

Offers a composite portrait of the Southern soldier during the Civil War

About this title

From the Back Cover

When Bell Irvin Wiley's composite portrait of the rank-and-file Confederate soldier was published in 1943, it was enthusiastically received by professional historians and general readers alike. A half century later, the book still is regarded as one of the best available accounts of the ordinary citizens who made up the Confederate army. The Life of Johnny Reb is not about the battles and skirmishes fought by the Confederate foot soldier. Rather, it is an intimate history of the soldier's daily life - the songs he sang, the foods he ate, the hopes and fears he experienced, the reasons he fought. Wiley has examined countless letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and official records in constructing this frequently poignant, sometimes humorous account of the life of Johnny Reb.|

When Bell Irvin Wiley's composite portrait of the rank-and-file Confederate soldier was published in 1943, professional historians and general readers alike greeted it enthusiastically. Over a half century later, the book still offers one of the best available accounts of the ordinary citizens who made up the Confederate army. The Life of Johnny Reb does not merely describe the battles and skirmishes fought by the Confederate foot soldier. Rather, it provides an intimate history of a soldier's daily life -- the songs he sang, the foods he ate, the hopes and fears he experienced, the reasons he fought. Wiley examined countless letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, and official records to construct this frequently poignant, sometimes humorous account of the life of Johnny Reb. In a new foreword for this updated edition, Civil War expert James I. Robertson, Jr., explores the exemplary career of Bell Irvin Wiley, who championed the common folk, whom he saw as ensnared in the great conflict of the 1860s.

"A fascinating, well-written, stimulating, and valuable book." -- Tennessee Historical Quarterly

"[Wiley] has painted with skill a picture of the life of the Confederate private... that is not only by far the most complete we have ever had but perhaps the best of its kind we ever shall have." -- Saturday Review of Literature

Bell Irvin Wiley (1906--1980) was a professor emeritus of history at Emory University and one of America's preeminent Civil War historians. He is also the author of The Life of Billy Yank and Road to Appomattox, among other books.

James I. Robertson, Jr., is Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at Virginia Tech University. He is the author of Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Soldier, the Legend; Soldiers Blue and Gray; and The Stonewall Brigade, among other works.

About the Author

Bell Irvin Wiley taught at Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi), the University of Mississippi, Louisiana State University, and Emory University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
• Publication date: 1989
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807104752
• ISBN 13: 9780807104750
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480