Burning Rails as We Pleased: The Civil War Letters of William Garrigues Bentley, 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

William Garrigues Bentley chose to leave the safety of home and family at age 19 fight for the Union. He enlisted in the 104th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company G, in 1862 and served for three long years before being honorably discharged. His firsthand account details his day-to-day life as a soldier, the long marches around Kentucky, skirmishes with the Rebs, joining with Sherman's army in the Atlanta campaign and then chasing Hood into Tennessee and fighting in the bloody battle at Franklin, and on to rejoin Sherman in the winter of 1865 for the final months of the Carolina campaign.

This book--compiled from a collection of 142 of Bentley's newly discovered letters and other documents--not only is an important historical record but also offers an insight into the political thoughts and feelings of the time. The book includes a complete roster of the 104th Ohio.

Barbara Bentley Smith is William Garrigues Bentley's great-granddaughter. She lives in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Nina Bentley Baker is William Garrigues Bentley's great-granddaughter. She lives in Zebulon, North Carolina.