Fighting for Liberty and Right: The Civil War Diary of William Bluffton Miller, First Sergeant, Company K, Seventy-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

Fighting for Liberty and Right: The Civil War Diary of William Bluffton Miller, First Sergeant, Company K, Seventy-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Edited by Jeffrey L. Patrick and Robert J. Willey. Voices of the Civil War. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2005. Pp. xiv, 422. $42.00, ISBN 1-57233-329-4.)

Scholars can now consult another excellent published primary source on the Civil War soldier. William Bluffton Miller did not join the army until the summer of 1862. In less than three years of service, however, he compiled a diary of impressive length. His entries provide a detailed and illuminating portrait of daily life in the Union army. They describe battlefield experiences, camp food, weather, the miseries of guard duty, the attitude of officers toward their men, the plight of African Americans in the South, and the character of Confederate civilians--just to name a few subjects. Some of Miller's trials as when he was wounded in both thighs at the Battle of Chickamauga, were physical. But he also suffered emotionally with the death of his mother and infant son.

Early in the war, Miller was cautious about the Republicans taking drastic measures to defeat secession. When discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, he feared the "effect in the north and fear it will cause a war there. A great many Soldiers condemn it on that account" (p. 69). But he came to see the necessity of the United States' "hard war" policy. The South, he saw, was vulnerable on the slavery issue. Miller described the planters as do-nothings, who "depend on the Slaves and they are lazy and ignorant" (p. 79). He initially opposed emancipation, but by the summer of 1863 he had decided to "endorse it heartily" (p. 112).

Although he was a Democrat before the conflict began, Miller underwent a political transformation. In the fall of 1863 he wrote how he would like to have seen Clement Vallandigham hanged; and a year later, he looked forward to Lincoln's reelection, which he felt would lead to a total victory. Miller, a veteran of Sherman's campaigns who saw northern troops give no quarter to rebel soldiers and also witnessed the burning of Atlanta, ably chronicled the Union's harsh actions toward Confederates.

Despite the fact that he backed Republican policies toward freeing the slaves--and at one point told a fellow northerner that he believed black men should have the right to vote and white men who had fled to Canada should not--Miller's views on slavery and race were often crude. He wrote of "darkies" and described South Carolina slaves as "more monkey than human. I cant understand half they say" (p. 308). Yet Miller conceded that black soldiers "will stop Rebel Bullets as well as a white man" (p. 326). As with other northerners with prejudiced views, he eventually saw the wisdom in allowing African Americans to fight. He even saw them in action in March 1865 in North Carolina, where they captured some Confederate soldiers.

Reading Miller's diary will prove very rewarding to those interested in understanding the attitudes and experiences of the northern soldier. By providing useful chapter introductions, a lengthy biographical appendix, and ample notes, the editors have done Civil War scholars a great service.

COLIN WOODWARD

Virginia State University