Hometown Heroes in the Civil War: Berkshire County

Historic photos and documents accompany the accounts of 27 men from the Berkshires whofought with the Union in the American Civil WarHometown Heroes in the Civil War: Berkshire County has gripping narratives of twenty-sevenmen who answered President Lincoln’s call to preserve the Republic and found themselves inthe cataclysm of the American Civil War.These citizen-soldiers from the Berkshires became infantrymen, artillerists, chaplains, surgeons,and sailors. Through these men, the words of history will echo as they marched forth fromfarms and factories to face unrelenting combat, disease, force marches, exposure, inadequatefood, and scarce medical treatment.Hometown Heroes bears witness to the hundreds of thousands who fought and shed blood inthis war and the one-in-three who died or were wounded on our own soil. The men’s strugglesand failures are sad, but their bravery lifts our spirits. The heroes distinguished themselves inthe terrifying battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, SpotsylvaniaCourt House, The Wilderness, Petersburg, and Appomattox.The untold stories of these northern Berkshire men and more than 150 shared, rarely-seenimages of the men and their times give a glimpse into the four years of sacrifice and bloodshedthat characterized the War between the States. Through the powder and smoke these scenesevoke, you will read their captivating and self-sacrificing stories.The stories include: two soldiers from the famous 54th Black Regiment; four brothers, two ofwhom perished; POWs who survived the notorious prisons of Libby and Andersonville; a sailorwho survived the first submarine attack; President Lincoln’s carriage driver; a battlefieldsurgeon; and a bootmaker who received the Medal of Honor.In the end, those who returned home became formative citizens and were honored for theirsacrifices in preserving the Union and ending the scourge of slavery—freeing 4,000,000 souls. Read more