A Confederate Englishman: The Civil War Letters of Henry Wemyss Feilden

First hand accounts are the best teacher of history. Tons of information gleaned from letters written by a young Englishman serving in the Confederacy. Fantastic!

This is a well researched book with interesting end notes and an extensive bibliography. Henry Feilden was an extraordinary and widely travelled British military officer, and a lengthy introduction is important in presenting his various travels and experiences.Most of the letters from Feilden, who was A.A.G. to General P.G.T. Beauregard, are to his fiancé who later becomes his wife. These letters give an interesting insight into the social aspects of living in South Carolina during the Civil War and when Feilden's duties take him to Florida he has some fascinating observations on the state and its inhabitants at that time.When Feilden and his South Carolinian wife finally settle in England he inherits a property in Burwash, East Sussex, into which they move on the same day that Rudyard Kipling moves into 'Batemans' in Burwash. They become great friends and, coincidentally, Kipling was also married to an American.If you are looking for battle descriptions you will be disappointed, but for an understanding of life behind the lines, this book is excellent.