Irregular pages

File — Box: 4010.001, Folder: 1

Scope and Contents

From the Collection: The collection contains the approximate 1200-page manuscript of Alexander Hunter's Johnny Reb and Billy Yank, his narrative of service in the Confederate Army, under the working title, "Four Years in the Ranks." The book was published originally by Walter Neale in 1905. Hunter explained in his preface that while thousands of soldiers on both sides of the conflict who started keeping a diary of his daily activities, very few kept them the entire time. He also said that while many officers rushed to get their memoirs into print immediately after the war, very few felt comfortable writing the exact truth without sacrificing reputations - whether it be his or his superiors'. A private, he said, who had served in the ranks could afford to tell the whole of what he endured without fear of reprisal.