U.S. History: Civil War- Sam Watkins’ Co. Aytch
Writings from prominent figures of the Civil War era are readily available, but firsthand accounts about the plight of common soldiers are rare. Sam Watkins of the First Tennessee Regiment wrote Co. Aytch in 1882, providing a unique perspective of the war from the field. Born in Maury County, Tennessee, Watkins joined the Confederate Army early in the war. He participated in the Battles of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, and Chickamauga, and he describes his experiences in vivid, readable prose. Although Watkins came from a wealthy family who owned slaves, Co. Aytch is widely accepted as a common soldier’s story because of Watkins’s rank as a private, and has provided a unique perspective for historians to study.
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