Lamson of the Gettysburg : The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, U.S. Navy

The leading Civil War historian James McPherson and his wife have edited a collection of extraordinary letters written during the Civil War by a prominent naval officer, Roswell H. Lamson. The McPhersons do a superb job of providing the appropriate historical context for these Civil War letters. Since no censorship existed for such letters during the Civil War, the letters are frank and revealing about military manoeuverings and actions in a way that would not be possible in later wars.