A Southern Record

About

Originally published in a limited edition in 1866, this memoir of Will Tunnard’s experiences and observations of the Civil War in the West, where he served in the famed Third Louisiana Infantry, is one of only a handful of chronicles left by western Confederate soldiers. His first-person account of the battles of Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, Iuka, and Corinth as well as the seige of Vicksburg, is a vivid history of these hard-fought campaigns which determined the outcome of the war in the Trans-Mississippi theater.

Using letters and diaries assembled from former comrades as well as his own daily journal, Tunnard tells the story of his regiment and its extraordinary odyssey from the Gulf of Mexico to the Ozark Plateau and from the Indian Territory to Mobile Bay. He offers an extensive and valuable account of capture and parole at Vicksburg and includes muster rolls which will interest genealogists as well as Civil War scholars and history enthusiasts. With a clear eye for detail and an engaging, objective style, Tunnard conveys the pathos of war and recounts the trials of camp life, social conditions, and the war’s affect on the civilian population.

Noted Civil War scholar William L. Shea supports the original text with background on the regiment and the time period, sketching a helpful chronology of events. In retelling this remarkable story of comradeship, hardship, endurance, courage, pride, and eventual defeat, Tunnard and Shea give modern readers a rare glimpse of the war in the West.

Editors

William L. Shea is professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. A Louisianan by birth, he has authored and coauthored several books on the Civil War, including Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West, which was named one of “The 100 Best Books on the Civil War” by Civil War Magazine.

Review

“William L. Shea has provided a fine introduction for this new edition of A Southern Record and places Tunnard and the 3rd Louisiana in perspective. The book should be welcomed by professional and avocational Civil War historians alike.”
—Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr., North and South, January 1998

“Tunnard’s 1866 memoir gives his firsthand expeirences of serving with this noted infantry unit. He was one of the few to record many of the top Civil War battles fought west of the Mississippi, including Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and more. Noted Civil War scholar William L. Shea provides background on the regiment and offers a chronology of events. A solid addition to all Civil War collections.”
—Library Journal, January 2007