Yours for the Union

About this book

"Yours for the Union takes us into the life and mind of John W. Chase during his service with the Army of the Potomac. Chase was a 36-year-old cabinetmaker from Roxbury and a widower with four small children when he enlisted as a private in the First Massachusetts Light Artillery. John Chase's frequent letters to his brother, Samuel S. Chase, were well written in plain language from the perspective of the common soldier." "Of his letters, 172 that have survived are included in this book; they cover a four-year period from October 1861 until the war ended in April 1865. The letters are divided into chapters covering the different arenas where Chase served during the war, from Alexandria, the Peninsula Campaign, Maryland, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville to Gettysburg, Warrenton and Brandy Station, the Overland Campaign, the Shenandoah Valley - and, finally, to Petersburg." "A brief historical overview introduces each chapter, placing it in context. The letters portray a man trying to provide for his children, maintain his finances, and obtain food and clothing to supplement his meager rations, all while marching in the mud and fighting a war. They reveal his patriotism and enthusiasm for preserving the Union. As the war progresses, though, his increasing cynicism becomes apparent and his criticism of the Union officers and leadership in Washington grows in intensity."--BOOK JACKET.