Rebel Private Front and Rear

A Confederate soldier shares a candid and harrowing account of his varied experiences on the frontlines in this Civil War memoir.

William Fletcher joined the Confederate Army in 1861, serving with the Army of North Virginia’s Texas Brigade. Overtaken with a “bad case of cowardly terror” at Gettysburg, he later sustained wounds at Chickamauga. Unable to continue as an infantryman, he was transferred to Company E, Eighth Texas Rangers, where he served with Terry’s Rangers until the end of the war.

Fletcher set down his experiences some forty years later, recounting thrilling skirmishes, punishing marches, and combat in which being wounded was a worse fate than death. Told with the artlessness of the natural raconteur, the memoir is alive with Fletcher’s eye for detail, straightforward language, and sense of humor. It is also sprinkled with dissertations on unexpected subjects, such as God, justice, and war.

One of the most frequently cited narratives written by soldiers of Lee’s army, Rebel Private: Front and Rear derives its value as a historical source mainly from Fletcher’s honesty, his close observations, the richness and variety of his experiences, and the sharpness of his memory.