All for the Union: The Civil War Diary & Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes | 
 enlarge | Author: Elisha Hunt Rhodes
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 240979
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Vintage Civil War Library Ed
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.6
ISBN: 0679738282
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.7445
EAN: 9780679738282
ASIN: 0679738282
Publication Date: July 28, 1992
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Product Description
All for the Union is the eloquent and moving diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes, who enlisted into the Union Army as a private in 1861 and left it four years later as a 23-year-old lieutenant colonel after fighting hard and honorably in battles from Bull Run to Appomattox. Anyone who heard these diaries excerpted on the PBS-TV series The Civil War will recognize his accounts of those campaigns, which remain outstanding for their clarity and detail. Most of all, Rhodes's words reveal the motivation of a common Yankee foot soldier, an otherwise ordinary young man who endured the rigors of combat and exhausting marches, short rations, fear, and homesickness for a salary of $13 a month and the satisfaction of giving "all for the union."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
Good stuff ! September 20, 2008
Just finished reading "All for the Union", and it's well worth the effort. A quicker, light read -but highly interesting and lives up to its buzz.
I won't repeat the very good commentary in previous Amazon book reviews, but I will offer these observations:
- As this diary is a day-to-day account by a front line Union officer, I'm surprised at how much idle time there was- especially during the winter months (ala Revolutionary War).
- It's amazing that units in the same corps can be so frequently rotated in & out of the front line battle. During the siege of Petersburg, the rotating (and advancing / retreating) was frequent. My thought when reading the book was that the high-level Generals better know what they are doing, as the unit leaders closer to the front probably DON'T have much visibility into "big picture" plans and tactics.
- Glad I never have to rely upon foraging off the land, and eating hard tack and other nasty field provisions. Tough folks, these soldiers. Especially my people, the Irish, who suffered bad injuries when playing horse games on their days off..
Enjoy this very good Civil War book!
Neat first-hand view of the Civil War December 9, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
We have works on the Civil War written by generals (e.g., the memoirs of Ulysses Grant and James Longstreet) and other officers (E. P. Alexander, Moxley Sorrell). However, equally valuable is the view from the bottom, by the foot soldiers. From the Confederate side, the paradigm example is Sam Watkins, "Company Aytch". From the Union side, Elisha Hunt Rhodes fills the bill. He rose through the ranks, and his diaries and letters provide a first-hand, ground-level view of the war in the east. As the Introduction by one of his descendants notes (Page xv): "He participated in every campaign of the Army of the Potomac from Bull Run to Appomattox with rapid promotions up to the rank of colonel in 1865."
Incidents are described plainly and with an eye from the front. On pages 15 and following, he describes the march to Bull Run, the state of the troops, the weariness experienced on that march. Then, the battle itself and aftermath are described in an economical manner. Here and after, his observations of fellow soldiers and officers is most useful, giving the reader a sense of what he was perceiving.
On pages 106 and following is his description of his regiment's (2nd Rhode Island) and his corps' (VI Corps under General John Sedgwick) march to and role at Gettysburg. While the corps arrived late, its uniting with the rest of the Army of the Potomac was a great morale boost for the Union forces, as this Corps was the largest in the northern army, bringing it to full strength at this bloody conflict.
Then, his description of the bloody battle at the Wilderness, where he took the measure of Grant, after vicious fighting. In his diary on May 7th, 1864, he noted (page 138): "If we were under any other General except Grant I should expect a retreat, but Grant is not that kind of soldier, and we feel that we can trust him." In that phrase, he captures nicely the bulldog tenacity of Grant as a General, and identifying what was different from him compared with other commanders of the Army of the Potomac.
His rendering the campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, where General Phil Sheridan jousted with Jubal Early's forces is is insightful. He speaks of the classic surprise assault on the Union position while Sheridan was off consulting with Washington. The surprise attack rolled up the Union lines for a time, although the VI Corps held pretty well. His description of Sheridan's role is interesting, as his simple coda for this indicates (page 185): "Hurrah for Sheridan!"
And, finally, these lines (page 221): "Glory to God in the highest. Peace on earth, good will to men! Thank God Lee has surrendered and the war will end soon." Thus, his response at Appomattox Court House.
As with Sam Watkins' observations, so, too, with Rhodes'. These observers provide a valuable and insightful perspective on the war from the ground level. Well recommended for those interested in the soldier's view of the Civil War.
eyes of the Union army--army of the Potomac November 19, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Whie the Army of the Potomac suffered the usual soldier hardships we also have to realize these soldiers suffered some very bad generals in comparison to the Army of the Tennessee. We see the participants sense of this in the memoir. It is best placed in the heirarchy of the Civil War memoirs it must be placed beside Sam Watkins's "Co. Aytch." High praoise indeed.
A must read for Civil War buffs October 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Anyone who is interested in the Civil War has to read this book. All for the Union is the diary of Elisha Hunt Rhodes and covers the four years that he spent in the Union army. Entry by entry, the reader can watch Rhodes go from an enthusiastic young man, to hard, weary soldier. Appalled by the death and destruction early in the book, by the end, laying down to sleep between the dead and dying barely justifies a comment. A wonderful read.
Only A Boy March 1, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
If you are interested in more than big names and big battles this book is well worth reading. Elisha Hunt Rhodes shares his experiences from his enlistment as a boy having never been away from home until his mustering out as a man having earned the rank of Col. He writes in an honest straight forward manner about every aspect of daily life. His strong belief in duty, sense of right and wrong and his ever important sense of humor show in everything he writes. He's an optimist that made it through the war with all these attributes intact. Thankfully for us he kept this diary so that we can understand a little more about life during the Civil War.
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