A Raw Recruit‘s War Experiences

Nickerson, Ansel D., -1896Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 77K words
Chapters: 8

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.A Raw Recruit's War Experiences by Ansel D. NickersonAuthor: Nickerson, Ansel D., -1896,Language: English, Class: E456: History: America: Civil War period (1861-1865), Release Date: Apr 17, 2010

Editor's review

This is the Civil War memoir of Ansel D. Nickerson, an American soldier. The title translates literally as "A Raw Recruit's War Experiences," and it recounts from enlistment to the battlefield through the eyes of an ordinary soldier. Unlike generals' memoirs or broad campaign histories, its appeal lies in the authentic details of the enlisted man's view: marches, camp life, fear, and everyday trivia that convey war's impact on ordinary people. As a Project Gutenberg public-domain ebook, the text preserves the language of its time and is classed under E456, United States history—Civil War period. It serves as supplementary material for the social history of the war and the study of soldiers' mentality, and will appeal to readers who enjoy first-person war narratives. Readers are advised to consult a timeline of the campaigns to understand the historical context behind the recruit's perspective.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in the daily life and mentality of Civil War soldiers
History enthusiasts studying the social history of war and military psychology
General readers who enjoy first-person war memoirs
Students and researchers seeking primary sources from the enlisted soldier's perspective

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting macro-level analysis of campaigns and strategy
Readers who prefer Chinese translations and are not comfortable reading the English original
Readers with little interest in wartime details and camp life

Reading tips

First learn about the soldier's unit, its combat history, and timeline; this makes the memoir easier to place.
Pay attention to descriptions of daily life and compare them with official battle reports to appreciate the difference in perspective.
After each reading session, briefly note details that stand out, building an understanding of the soldier's mentality.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

How does this book differ from generals' memoirs?

This book was written by an ordinary soldier and focuses not on strategic decisions or the overall course of campaigns but on a recruit's training after enlistment, marches, camp life, and personal feelings in battle. It offers an enlisted man's perspective that fills in the everyday details and ordinary people's psychological experience that generals' memoirs overlook; reading the two side by side gives a fuller picture of the war.

What background knowledge is needed to read this book?

A basic timeline of the American Civil War and knowledge of its major battles will help, as will a general sense of the Union and the Confederacy. The book mentions unit designations, place names, and military terminology, so reading with maps and a general history of the Civil War makes it easier to follow. Readers who simply want the soldier's perspective can read it directly and look up terms as needed.

Is this book suitable as a source to cite in historical research?

It can be used as a primary source, but note that it is a personal memoir subject to memory lapses and subjective coloring, so it should not be the sole basis for conclusions. Researchers should cross-check it against other soldiers' memoirs, official battle reports, and unit records, and note its limited perspective, to use it responsibly.

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About the author

Nickerson, Ansel D., -1896 Author

Ansel D. Nickerson (died 1896) is an author about whom very little is known: his nationality, year of birth and educational background cannot be verified from publicly available sources. It is known only that he died in 1896 and left behind a single work, A Raw Recruit's War Experiences. The title suggests a war memoir or first-hand account, in which the author describes his early days in the army and his encounters with war from the perspective of a raw recruit. Writing of this kind tends not to pursue grand strategic analysis but favors personal on-the-spot observation, camp daily life and shifts in mood, in a plain, direct and detail-minded style. With only one book to his name, public knowledge of the man and his writing is limited; his significance lies chiefly in offering a first-hand reference for the study of the relevant military history and the individual soldier's experience.