The University of Wisconsin Press

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American History / Wisconsin

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A Wisconsin Boy in Dixie Civil War Letters of James K. Newton Selected and Edited by Stephen E. Ambrose A North Coast Book "Unlike many of his fellows, [James Newton] was knowledgeable, intuitive, and literate; like many of his fellows he was cast into the role of soldier at only eighteen years of age. He was polished enough to write drumhead and firelight letters of fine literary style. It did not take long for this farm boy turned private to discover the grand design of the conflict in which he was engaged, something which many of the officers leading the armies never did discover."—Victor Hicken, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society "When I wrote to you last I was at Madison with no prospect of leaving very soon, but I got away sooner than I expected to." So wrote James Newton upon leaving Camp Randall for Vicksburg in 1863 with the Fourteenth Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. Newton, who had been a rural Wisconsin schoolteacher before he volunteered for duty in the Union army in 1861, wrote to his parents of his experiences at Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, on the Red River, in Missouri, at Nashville, at Mobile, and as a prisoner of war. These letters, selected and edited by noted historian Stephen E. Ambrose, follow Newton as he traveled more than five thousand miles as a Union soldier. A Wisconsin Boy in Dixie reveals Newton as a young man who grew to maturity through his Civil War experience, rising in rank from private to lieutenant. Writing soberly about the less attractive aspects of army life, Newton's comments on fraternizing with the Rebs, on officers, and on discipline are touched with a sense of humor—"a soldier's best friend," he claimed. He also became sensitive to the importance of political choices. After giving Lincoln the first vote he had ever cast, Newton wrote: "In doing so I felt that I was doing my country as much service as I have ever done on the field of battle." James K. Newton (1843–1892) served in the Union Infantry from 1861 to 1865. Later, he studied at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he remained as professor of French and German until 1888. He died in California in 1892. Stephen E. Ambrose (1936–2002) was professor of history at the University of New Orleans. Among his many books are Undaunted Courage, Band of Brothers, and Citizen Soldiers. Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.)

March 1995 206 pp.   5 1/2 x 8 1/2 13 halftones, 3 maps Paper $21.95 t ISBN 978-0-299-02484-0  ADD TO CART

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