Preview: Christopher Loperfido, editor, “A Surgeon’s Tale”

New from Ten Roads Publishing (see here) is A Surgeon’s Tale: The Civil War Letters of Surgeon James D. Benton, 111th and 98th New York Infantries, 1862-1865, edited by Christopher E. Loperfido. Benton was an Assistant Surgeon with the 111th NY from Harper’s Ferry through Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign, and was with them at Petersburg until he was commissioned in the 98th New York as Surgeon. The 111th NY, as some of you may know, ranked 9th of all Union regiments at Gettysburg in total losses in the battle, third in total killed. A total of 220 members of the regiment were killed or died of wounds during the war, ranking them 25th of all Federal regiments in that regard. In other words, Benton was a busy guy. From the back cover:

Benton’s honesty, raw emotion and passion for his work give insight into what life was like for the men who gave so much for the preservation of this nation.

Loperfido stumbled across this fine collection of letters while researching the 111th NY in a historical society in Weedsport, NY. Give it a tumble. It’s tough to beat contemporary, first person accounts.