Desolating This Fair Country

Henry C. Lyon volunteered for the United States Army at the very beginning of the War Between the States. He was articulate, passionate and committed to the Union. His love for his family and country is evident in the letters he wrote home and the diary he began keeping on January 1, 1862. His diary and the 23 letters collected here are powerful firsthand accounts of the War, the Union Army and one soldier's thoughts and emotions. These documents follow Lyon from the 1860 Republican Convention in which he supported Lincoln, to his enlistment, through his involvement in crucial battles at Fair Oaks, Second Manassas and South Mountain, to his mortal wounding in the West Woods at the battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. His words chronicle his personal responses, as well as historical moments. His is a sensitive and detailed account, presented in a format that does not alter his voice as a writer. The text is complemented with photographs, a roster of the 34th New York Volunteer Infantry, appendix and bibliography.