Monday, October 13, 2008

"Where Men Only Dare to Go"

Virginia artilleryman Royall W. Figg's Where Men Only Dare to Go Or the Story of a Boy Company, C.S.A. (Louisiana State University Press, updated edition - Oct. 2008) has been treated to a new paperback edition. Figg was a member of Parker's Virginia Battery, a unit that fought from 1862-1865 attached to the Army of Northern Virginia. Campaigns receiving the most attention in the memoir include 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Longstreet's East Tennessee campaigns, and the ensuing Overland Campaign. A chapter is also devoted to prison camp experiences at Point Lookout, Maryland.

In his new annotated Foreword to Figg's book, Robert K. Krick lauds the soldier's storytelling ability as well as the usefulness of his battle and campaign descriptions as source material for modern historians. Additional personal background information is provided as well as insight into the circumstances surrounding the original publication of the book. The new Krick edition also has an index, an always welcome addition.

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