The Civil War Letters of William A. Robinson and the Story of the 89th New York Volunteer Infantry

President Lincoln's call for volunteers to fight for the restoration of the Union was answered by common men throughout the United States. William A. Robinson was one of them - a simple farmer and a family man from Delaware County, New York, who enlisted for a three year term in Co. I of the 89th NY Volunteer Infantry in the fall of 1861. Over the course of those three years Robinson and his fellows in the 89th would see service throughout the South, participating in engagements at Antietam, South Mountain, Fredericksburg, Suffolk, VA, the Federal siege of Fort Sumpter (1863), Cold Harbor, Petersburgh and Fair Oaks. Robinson wrote home to his wife Mary as often as the rigors of soldiering would allow, and over 100 of these letters have survived to the present day. Robert J. Taylor has transcribed Robinson's Civil War letters in their entirety, supplemented by a history of the 89th NY with accompanying rosters and an index of full names. The letters describe the everyday experiences of the soldier in the field, alternating between the monotony of camp life and the thrill