Outskirts Press, INC.

960 EXUBERANTLY BOARDED THE TRAIN BOUND FOR WAR; 481 NEVER RETURNED

The 123rd New York Volunteer Infantry was the only regiment raised solely from Washington County, NY. From Chancellorsville to Gettysburg, Chattanooga to Atlanta, and Savannah to Bentonville, Sergeant William J. McCollum recounts the life of a 123rd NY infantry soldier marching with Generals Hooker and Sherman. He first saw action on the Orange Turnpike at Chancellorsville, was involved in recapturing Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg, was pinned down in the open field at Resaca, was a picket running from Hood’s assault at Kolb’s farm, and faced Stewart’s surprise attack at Peach Tree Creek – all were among the moments of terror William experienced. He fought disease, scarcities of food and clothing, brutal cold, scorching heat, relentless rain, endless mud, and losing comrades, all the while maintaining a positive tone in letters home so as not to worry family and friends. When This Cruel War is Over contains 94 letters spanning the years 1862 – 1865 and the 1865 diary of Sergeant McCollum. The letters speak not only to camp life and marching orders, but to concerns for his family back home on the farm bringing in crops and paying the bills. He mentions the fate of countless friends and acquaintances both at war and on the home front in Washington and surrounding New York counties. Accompanying the letters are chapter introductions providing an overview of the times, places, people, and battlefield brigade and regimental movements that enhance the reader’s experience. The text is also enriched with period photographs and prints and battle maps created specifically to address the position of the 123rd NY during the various conflicts.