William Rhadamanthus Montgomery (1839-1906) was present at some of the most memorable battles of the Civil War. Among them were Chickahominy, Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Manassas, Sharpsburg, Fredricksburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Cold Harbor. Wounded seven or eight times, Montgomery remained in service throughout the entire war. After the war, he returned to Marietta where he lived out the rest of his days. The diary and the letters contained herein is a testament to his time as a soldier during the Civil War. But as the diary and letters indicate, the war was not the end all of his life. His loyalty for the South was surpassed only by his loyalty for and to his family.
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June 10, 2009: I bought this book in hopes of obtaining information about Lt. Montgomery's activities during the two weeks prior to Gettysburg. There is very very little in the book about that. After reading it, I liked the lieutenant, who shared my opinion of Braxton Bragg (poor) and Joe Johnston (the ultimate retreater). The weakness is in the editing. Obviously, the first part of the "diary" was written by a Union soldier. I conclude that Lt. Montgomery picked it up on some 1863 battlefield and superimposed his thoughts. If the editor realized this, he did not comment on it other than to mention that the first part of the diary was written in another hand than that of Lt. Montgomery. The book fails to identify many of the men and women to or of whom he wrote. While some editors comment too much, this editor does very little to put the letters in context. Lt. Montgomery was in Wofford's Brigade of McLaws' Division. The recommended book contains the letters of a private in Semmes' Brigade of the same division.
I Also Recommend: The Stillwell Letters.
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