The story of a civil war soldier and his first experience on the battlefield. A single battle is portrayed, in which the main character develops: first he is very eager for battle, but once battle commences, he flees from his unit on the battlefield, only to come back at a later stage to fight like a maniac.
Written from the perspective of the ordinary soldier, it shows that many orders and redeployments make no sense for the men at all, as only a small fraction of the battlefield can be overviewed by them.
The book is hard to read for an european reader, I guess even some american readers struggle with the pre-1900 language and the soldiers slang of the era.
A short book giving a vivid account of a civil war battle, from the soldiers view. To be recommended for readers with some interest in american history, but for all others think twice before you read it.