Waging War for Freedom with the 54th Massachusetts - The Civil War Memoir of John W. M. Appleton

Waging War for Freedom with the 54th Massachusetts is a fresh look at the service of this famed regiment as told through Appleton’s memoir—the most complete first-person account available about the service of the men in the 54th Massachusetts regiment. Appleton wrote candidly about his own experiences and the men who served with and under him, including troop punishments, combat, and combat injuries, including his own. He also described in detail the weather, climate, southern geography, and his interaction with civilians. Appleton served with the regiment from February 1863 through August 1864, when severe injuries forced him home a second time. Taking Appleton’s memoir as their foundation, the editors thoroughly contextualize the service of the 54th through its disbanding in 1865, providing a fresh perspective on the men and the regiment as they fought to abolish slavery in the United States.

About the authors: James Robbins Jewell is a professor of history at North Idaho College. He is the author of Agents of Empire: The First Oregon Cavalry and the Opening of the Interior Pacific Northwest during the Civil War (Nebraska, 2023) and the editor of On Duty in the Pacific Northwest during the Civil War: Correspondence and Reminiscences of the First Oregon Cavalry Regiment. Eugene S. Van Sickle is a professor of history at the University of North Georgia.

ISBN 9781640126442