This Cruel War

"Neither a slave-holder nor a secessionist, thirty-four year old Taylor reluctantly went to war with his neighbors when faced with the Confederate draft and its stigma. His writings contain few exclamations of support for the Confederacy or expressions of patriotism, and as the conflict went on, his morale only declined. Taylor's early letters deal with topics like the vain attempt to secure a substitute and accounts of local men maiming themselves to avoid military service. These incidents offset romanticized legends about the eagerness of some Southerners to fight the Yankees. Throughout, Taylor tells a grim soldier's story of hard marching, short rations, inadequate clothing, illness, and the constant fears of being wounded or killed in battle.".