Field of battle

While Field of Battle: The Letters of Major Thomas J. Halsey is Halsey's story, it is as much the story of the Civil War - from Sumter to Appomattox. Showcased throughout the book, his letters provide a springboard for the bigger picture. Author K. M. Kostyal, a native Virginian, has crafted some 70 compelling essays illustrated with 210 period and contemporary photographs, paintings, sketches, and memorabilia - from scores of archives, museums, and private collectors. Fourteen specially commissioned maps detail specific battles and conditions of the time. Together, the elements weave a rich tapestry: the camaraderie of camp life with its fare of hardtack, skillygalee, and bawdy tunes; the daring raids of Mosby - the Gray Ghost; the horrors at Antietam, Gettysburg, the Wilderness; Sherman's march to the sea; the first black soldiers; Andersonville prison; the charades of flamboyant spies; the games of the brilliant strategists Lee, Jackson, Grant, and Lincoln. A time line links each letter and essay to the greater war, eventually leading Halsey's triumphant regiment to Appomattox. The tired soldier wrote at war's end, "I ... had the extreme satisfaction of heading the regiment in the march ... on our way home."