Letters Home: Henry Matrau of the Iron Brigade

Rating:
Summary: Good for a Small Scale Study
Review: Henry Matrau of Company G, 6th Wisconsin Infantry, is a man always interested in the big picture. From the tone of his letters, it is clear that he enjoys soldiering and is proud to be a Federal soldier. His spelling is remarkably good for the time, and much of his letters talk impersonally about the course of battles and events. This book is a quick read (a few hours). Matrau's camp and march anecdotes, and notes on casualties to Company G, provide enough information to do a short historical report for secondary school class on the Company's fate and fortunes. Beyond that, this book adds detail to a comparative study of the experiences of different soldiers in different units.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book on the experiences of a Civil War Soldier
Review: I would highly recommend this book if you would like to understand the struggles and experiences of soldiers during the Civil War. No one understands the experience of the Civil War than the Soldiers themselves.

Rating:
Summary: An Ordinary Man in an extraordinary Time
Review: There is always an extra dimension to history when it is told in the words of those who lived it, and written as they experienced it. These instant observations are not changed, colored or amended through benefit of hindsight and recollection.

That the young Matrau rises from "The Baby of Company G' to Company Commander is amazing in itself, it is even more incredible that he stayed so outwardly calm through four years at the hottest of battles in the eastern campaign.

One learns much of his everyday life: the cold, the dirt, the mundane and the dangerous. Yet while Matrau is fiercely patriotic and loyal, he expresses little political or social opinion. He is matter of fact about doing his job, and doing it well.

Fascinating read with some small and large insights on life in the legendary "Iron Brigade."

Rating:
Summary: Letters Home
Review: This is an interesting book based off the letters sent home by Henry Matrau. Often I looked for the harsh realities of war to be written about though it seems many wouldn't write of such horrors back home. What made the book interesting was the fact that very little description was ever written about such large scale battles as Antietam or Gettysburg in which Matrau took part of. This book gives the reader a first hand glance at how soldiers communicated. Matrau didn't want those at home to worry about him and often left out many details I preferred to read about. This book is a rather quick read though informative about the 6th Wisconsin and their hardships endured throughout the war. It carefully explains how this regiment shrank or was placed with other outfits meshed in the Iron Brigade. Being a shorter book of 140 or so pages, it may lacks high details though it's simply not a history book. It's a copy of letters sent back home and is intended truly for that.

Rating:
Summary: Letters Home
Review: This is an interesting book based off the letters sent home by Henry Matrau. Often I looked for the harsh realities of war to be written about though it seems many wouldn't write of such horrors back home. What made the book interesting was the fact that very little description was ever written about such large scale battles as Antietam or Gettysburg in which Matrau took part of. This book gives the reader a first hand glance at how soldiers communicated. Matrau didn't want those at home to worry about him and often left out many details I preferred to read about. This book is a rather quick read though informative about the 6th Wisconsin and their hardships endured throughout the war. It carefully explains how this regiment shrank or was placed with other outfits meshed in the Iron Brigade. Being a shorter book of 140 or so pages, it may lacks high details though it's simply not a history book. It's a copy of letters sent back home and is intended truly for that.