A century and a half after Appomattox, the diaries of soldiers continue to surface, and Civil War enthusiasts, including many university professors, dream of finding a lost piece of history. Such was the delight of David Roe, whose friend gave him a remarkable family heirloom--the diary of Valentine C. Randolph--which included handwritten daily entries starting on the day Randolph enlisted and ending on the evening before he arrived home. Spanning...