Leander Stillwell’s The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865 is a celebrated memoir of the conflict told from the perspective of an ordinary Union infantryman. Enlisting as a farm boy in an Illinois regiment, Stillwell served through major campaigns in the western theater, including the bloody fields of Shiloh.
Written years later from memory and wartime letters, the account is prized for its honesty, warmth, and eye for the everyday realities of soldiering, from drill and rations to the terror of combat. Rather than dwelling on generals and strategy, Stillwell speaks for the men in the ranks. His clear, unpretentious prose has made the book a lasting favorite among readers seeking the authentic voice of the common Civil War soldier.