The Rebel Yell and the Yankee Hurrah

for a Maine volunteer and army private John Haley was incredibally articulate. He had a wry wit and sharp sense of humour. He paints a vivid picture of day to day life in the field. Haley has a self depreciating manner that lends credibility to his accounts as you don't feel he is embellishing in order to elevate his own status. I really felt this was an honest account of the hardships of the war as well as the mundania. If you love civil war history or like myself have a fondness for Maine history you should put this journal at the front of your list.

John Haley went to war with a Maine infantry regiment and wrote down his experiences in this book. Overall, the book is an interesting account of one average soldier in the biggest war America has ever seen. Many tidbits of information are tossed out making the reader re-read them again. One such piece is a reference to a Confederate sharpshooter who was killing many Union soldiers. The person is finally killed and he turns out to be a BLACK man. This book is good for Civil War buffs, for those wanting a "feel" of what it was like to fight for the Union, and those who think that no blacks fought for the Confederacy.