Common Men in the War for the Common Man

This is the rest of the story of the men of the 145th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, at least those who survived the clean-up at Antietam and the devastation at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Letters, diaries, service, pension and medical records from the Nationl Archives, reminiscences and historical texts merge to tell the men's stories in one of the most comprehensive regimental histories written. From casualty at Bristoe Station to the Bloody Angle to Cold Harbor and Petersburg, the reality of patriotism is enmeshed in disease, death and prisons the likes of Andersonville. The soldiers' successes contribute to saving the Union, freeing the enslaved and improving the blueprint for America's special destiny.

Dr. Verel Salmon taught high school and college in Erie, Pennsylvania, before serving as a high school administrator in Mentor, Ohio, then returning to Erie, Pennsylvania, as an assistant superintendent and, finally, Superintendent of the Millcreek Township School District. He currently farms near his hometown of historic Waterford where the young George Washington ordered the French to leave British territory in advance of the birth of these United States. Dr. Salmon and his wife, Sandra, enjoy four children who have visited, and seven grandchildren who surely will visit the many points along the sacrificial trail of the regiment and their ancestors. Forever the educator, the author challenges readers to study the great nation's heritage to better guide it into the future.