George S. Bernard was a Petersburg lawyer and member of the 12th Virginia
Infantry Regiment during the Civil War. Over the course of his life, Bernard wrote extensively about
his wartime experiences and collected accounts from other veterans. In 1892, he published
War Talks of Confederate Veterans, a collection of firsthand accounts focusing on
the battles and campaigns of the 12th Virginia that is widely read to this day. Bernard prepared a
second volume but was never able to publish it. After his death in 1912, his papers became scattered
or simply lost. But a series of finds, culminating with the discovery of a cache of papers in
Roanoke in 2004, have made it possible to reconstruct a complete manuscript of the unpublished
second volume. The resulting book, Civil War Talks, contains
speeches, letters, Bernard's wartime diary, and other firsthand accounts of the war not only
by veterans of the Confederacy, such as General William Mahone, but by Union veterans as well. Their
personal stories cover the major military campaigns in Virginia, Maryland, and
Pennsylvania--Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg,
and Appomattox. For the general reader, this volume offers evocative testimonies focusing on the
experiences of individual soldiers. For scholars, it provides convenient access to many accounts
that, until now, have not been widely available or have been simply unknown.
Copyright:
2012
Book Details
Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
ISBN-13:
9780813931838
Related ISBNs:
9780813931753
Publisher:
University of Virginia Press
Date of Addition:
05/07/13
Copyrighted By:
the Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia