Co. Aytch, Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment: Or, a Side Show of the Big Show

Co. Aytch, Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment: Or, a Side Show of the Big Show by Sam R. Watkins. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781577363828.

The classic "Co. Aytch" has reigned as one of the most memorable and honest depictions of the American Civil War since its original publication in 1882. Sam R. Watkins’s first-hand account of life as a Confederate soldier eloquently captured the realities of war, the humor and pathos of soldiering, and the tragic, historic events in which he participated. Although there have been dozens of versions of "Co. Aytch" published, this is the first with new material and revisions by Sam Watkins himself. Intending to republish after his first edition sold out, Watkins edited and revised "Co. Aytch," adding a new perspective that only came with time. He died before accomplishing his goal. Now more than one hundred years later, Watkins’s great granddaughter, Ruth Hill Fulton McAllister is fulfilling Watkins’s dream. Using his yellowed, aged, and pencil-marked copy handed down through different family members, McAllister has crafted a masterpiece that combines the ageless text with Sam Watkins’s intended revisions.This new edition incorporates actual images of Watkins’s handwritten additions, all his desired editorial changes, and more than forty images. Desiring to be true to both her ancestor’s wishes and the sanctity of his classic memoir, McAllister skillfully included Watkins’s additions and artfully indicated what he would have omitted, leaving the original text intact. The result is a rich, expanded "director’s cut" version of "Co. Aytch," sure to fascinate historians, Civil War enthusiasts, and new readers alike.