A Just and Holy Cause?

A Just and Holy Cause? details the life of the family of Lieutenant Marcus Bethune Ely and his unit, the Russell Guards (Co. H, 54th Georgia Regiment) in the midst of one of our country's greatest tragedies. The Russell Guards were organized in Columbus, Georgia, by Captain Charles R. Russell in May 1862. Most of the recruits were from Muscogee and Harris County. The first two years recount the life of a soldier living on the coast interspersed with life back home. Ely's letters are filled with accounts of happenings from the spring of 1862 until late April 1864 in the coastal area from below Savannah, Georgia, to Charleston, South Carolina. During this time the soldiers were well fed and housed. Letters from Ely's wife Martha describe day-to-day life as well as hardships at home. In late April 1864, the tides are turned drastically for the Russell Guards. They boarded a train in Hardeeville, South Carolina, and arrived in Dalton, Dug Gap, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, and others in the Atlanta area. After the fall of Atlanta, as a part of the 54th Regiment, they marched into Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. As Ely and the Russell Guards are thrust into the fierce fighting, he describes the hardships, lack of adequate clothing, and scarcity of food for the men in vivid detail. -- from dust jacket.

Year

2016

Language

English

Publisher

Mercer University Press

Editions

1

Pages

240

ISBN

9780881465693

Data source: Wikidata