"My Experiences in the War of 1860 Briefly Told" - A Review of Rebel Correspondent
Steve Procko, Rebel Correspondent (Steve Procko Productions, 2021).
I’m something of a fan of reading the accounts of those who experienced the Civil War up close. I mean, I’ve been writing about Union and Confederate veterans for the entirety of my professional career (and I pretty much spent my college years thinking and reading and writing about these guys too). So, I am always eager to dive into to something new, especially when that something is the publication of a series of veteran writings that had, for whatever reason, been resigned to obscurity for over a century.
Not too long ago, I received a note from Mr. Steve Procko – a documentarian, photographer, and self-proclaimed lover of history, especially the history of the “small everyday events in the lives of little-known people and the small towns they lived in.” Steve had published a collection of writings penned by one Arba F. Shaw, a Georgian and former Confederate cavalryman who had serialized his Civil War experiences for public consumption (via his local newspaper) between December 1901 and February 1903. I am pleased that he reached out – this edited collection is entirely absorbing, well annotated, and a valuable resource for those interested in what a former Confederate, writing decades after the fact, might have cared to discuss about his service in the Confederate cavalry.
What I find most fascinating about veteran publications, especially as the span of time invariably creates a much more complicated (and conceivably distorted) memory of historical events, is that we must acknowledge and consider the degree to which the author is curating personal memories to suit a particular audience or agenda. What Shaw chose to discuss in the early-twentieth century (and conversely, what he chose not to discuss) offers an interesting glimpse into a very particular story – and perhaps tells the reader as much about the early 1900s as it does Shaw’s “Experiences in the War of 1860, Briefly Told.” For example, there is not much here concerning Confederate ideology. Now, this could suggest any number of things. Perhaps Shaw’s concerns rested elsewhere, both in the 1860s and early 1900s. Perhaps he felt a need to put ideology aside in the wake of such a contentious period…making only ambiguous nods to “cause” without laying out what that cause might have entailed from his perspective. Perhaps ideology was something that he felt no desire to unpack for stylistic purposes – relying on narrative and salient events in an effort to garner a greater and more diverse readership. Who knows? I have seen a number of examples that either leave ideology conspicuously aside or weave it into the story in powerful ways. As I have recently noted in my contribution to Civil War Witnesses and Their Books, an analysis of John D. Billings’s Hardtack and Coffee, ideology can most certainly simmer below the surface of Civil War reminiscences – even when such matters were not the author’s primary purpose. For whatever reason, Shaw chose not to go into it – and that is worth noting.
Still, Shaw offers a number of fascinating Civil War insights that underscore the “typical” (if such a thing can exist during wartime) experiences of a young enlisted cavalryman. Shaw’s encounter with typhoid (59-60), his description of battle (76-77), and his stay in a Confederate hospital (170) contribute to the narrative in ways that remind the reader of the realities of war. There were a couple of passages in this book particularly stand out. First, the heart-wrenching story of the loss of his daughter – an announcement Shaw published a few years prior to his Civil War series.
“It is with a sad heart that I record the death of Ida, my second daughter…She was down sixteen days, first with typhoid fever, and was doing well when pneumonia set in, and in one week done its deadly work, in spite of all earthly aid. She was in the likeness of her mother, who has been dead since Jan. 2, 1878, and for that reason I felt great anxiety in her being spared me, to keep her form, features, movements and many other turns that she possessed like her mother who too, was the most lovely of all objects of this earth…” (15-16)
Another revealing entry shows Shaw recalling how early in his war service, he first grappled with the act of killing his fellow man.
“Their skirmishers fired on our advance. We halted, formed line of battle…I had not fired a gun at a man and I stepped out in the line too. We deployed and went forward to where we had a full view of their situation…the others went to work as soon as they got there, but as to me – what about shooting a man? But they were shooting at me and I resolved to go to work and after the first shot my nerves quieted and I worked on with as deliberate precision as the other boys that had been in lots of such like places.” (115)
I think it is important to note that Shaw’s recollections show him in all his humanity. Whatever we might think of the Confederacy, the Confederate cause, slavery, treason, and the mythology often associated with Confederate memory, Shaw was a living human being complete with virtues as well as flaws…and he is very much a representative of a particular moment in time. Do we let him off the hook for getting caught up in something that from our perspective is reprehensible? No…I think not. But whatever his association with the Confederacy, we cannot possibly expect him to live up to our standards, and so we must read him accordingly – and learn what significant events and ideas inspired Shaw to record his memories.
Steve Procko – though not a professional historian – does some first-rate research work here contextualizing Shaw’s writings. He is well-versed in the literature and must have spent hours upon hours sifting through local records, newspapers, and the OR to trace Shaw and his unit (the 4th Georgia “Avery’s” Cavalry) as they moved through and saw action in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. Procko really goes the extra mile here tying down loose threads, explaining confusing administrative issues, confronting difficult subjects with editorial integrity, and connecting military and familial dots. I found Procko’s colloquial writing style especially refreshing and can readily conclude, as I am certain non-academic lay readers will agree, this is a very accessible book.
Those of you out there who have an interest in twentieth-century perspectives on the Civil War from a Confederate enlisted man will enjoy this book. You can find out more about the book and the author HERE. Grab a copy – read it, and we can discuss.
With compliments,
Keith