As men go off to war their thoughts turn to recording the mundane and terrifying times, whether it be in a diary chronicling the days or in letters home to family and friends. The writings of four Michigan soldiers from disparate backgrounds have been compiled and transcribed by David Poremba, affording the reader intimate views of military life in Civil War times. These words, often recorded just before and shortly after intense battles, shed new light on the life of a soldier, the leadership of officers, and the plight of the residents inhabiting the towns, villages, and the countryside where the war was waged. One of the men featured in this book did not survive the conflict, and of those who did one became a notorious criminal and was tried for murder on three occasions. Another invented a brand of ginger ale that is still famous throughout the region today, and the other returned to his career in the grocery business and lived a relatively normal life.