Review Of Earl Hess's 'Union Soldier In Battle'

Union Soldier in Battle
“Union Soldier in Battle” by Earl Hess, gives an insightful and truly detailed look into the lives of American soldiers during the civil war. This book not only discusses what the battlefield was like but it also goes into depth on how soldiers dealt with coping with what was happening around them. Hess draws his work from letters, diaries, and memoirs of Union soldiers; by doing this, Hess is able to expose the soldier’s deepest fears and also their sources of inner strength. He shows how they were encouraged by belief in God and country, or simply by their sense of duty; how they came to rely on the support of their comrades; and how they learned to muster self-control in order to persevere from one battle to the next.

Union Soldier’s uses of metaphors allowed them to have some control on the situation they were in. Soldiers would experience fears within the battlefield whether it be from hearing bullets whiz past their heads or seeing fellow dead soldiers and they would have to make just for it. “A swarm of bees running away in the hot summer air overheard,” describes minie balls flying through the air. (130) Hess points out that comparing bees to minie balls, “gave soldiers something familiar to associate with and it would ease the fear of battle.” George Claflin Parker of the 21st Massachusetts infantry explains this as well. As he witnessed a confederate attack at The Second Bull Run. Parker was so far away he could not hear the guns being fired but he could see the flash of artillery fire. “I could only think of a meadow full of fire flies on a summer evening.” (131) Hess points out the most common metaphorical images employed by soldiers to explain battle to themselves and to their audiences used cutting grain, hammering metal, falling rain, pounding hail, and other similar mental pictures to convey the experience and impression of combat. By turning combat into a common everyday experience through metaphorical imagery, the soldier exercised control over his immediate environment and his memory and reduced the trauma of battle. Hess argues that because the soldiers’ implemented comparisons and metaphors of their civilian lives to their battlefield experiences they were able to form their own understanding of combat. “Through this process,” Hess argues, “soldiers tamed battle”. “This way, they were not just passive victims of combat, but tried to make sense of this unique experience in their lives.”