Terrie Biggs

Letters From Gill Terrie Biggs

View the Civil War from unique perspective as seen through the experiences of a Union soldier camped in Confederate territory. Gilbert Bennett, the great grandfather of the author, enlisted in Company K of the Iowa 27th Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. These letters penned to his new bride show acts of compassion, kindness, honor, and reveal one soldier's fascinating experience while serving in the Civil War from a perspective never shown in the media. He described the struggles and hardships of camp life, skirmishes, battles, and rampant diseases that caused hospitalization and death among the soldiers. One of the moments that defined Gil's character was when he encountered the first black regiment which is described in his writings. Loneliness and the torment of wanting to hear from those they love are timeless emotions. At the end of his letters, the author compared letters from Gill to samples ranging from World War I to present day, and at the heart of them all is that the soldiers are anxiously waiting for letters from home.