Other editions of book The End of an Era

This book recalls the author’s youth in the days prior to the Civil War on his father's plantation with a childhood slave companion and friend. Then he delves into the war years, his father's part in the war, and his family. Wise was one of the Virginia Military Institute cadets who took part in the famed Battle of New Market. He also describes his impressions of major players in the war with great frankness. This book definitely brings those years alive and the reading is anything but dull.

This book recalls the author’s youth in the days prior to the Civil War on his father's plantation with a childhood slave companion and friend. Then he delves into the war years, his father's part in the war, and his family. Wise was one of the Virginia Military Institute cadets who took part in the famed Battle of New Market. He also describes his impressions of major players in the war with great frankness. This book definitely brings those years alive and the reading is anything but dull.

This book recalls the author’s youth on his father's plantation with a childhood slave companion and friend in the days prior to the Civil War. Then he delves into the war years, his father's part in the war, and his family. Wise was one of the Virginia Military Institute cadets who took part in the famed Battle of New Market. He also describes his impressions of major players in the war with great frankness. This book definitely brings those years alive and the reading is anything but dull.

Biography of John Sergeant Wise's early life through the Civil War. Son of Virginia governor and Confederate Brigadier General Henry Alexander Wise, young John was in a unique position to observe much. Cadet at the Virginia Military Institute during the war, participated in the Battles of New Market, The Crater, Saltville, and the siege of Petersburg. New Index added.

This memoir constitutes one of the best first-person narratives of the Civil War experience. It is written with power, candour, objectivity and elegance. The story that John Sergeant Wise recounts is a colourful, almost novelistic account of a young Confederate soldier's life and views. END OF AN ERA is a valuable archive of sociological and anthropological information about a bygone era. Wise affectionately recounts the cultural and economic diversity of his social landscape. He describes many of the small towns, villages, and territories of early Virginia, recalling the demographic, economic, religious, and political aspects that made them notable. In the book's detailed prose, the various strands that made up the fabric of antebellum Southern culture are captured beautifully. He also describes the privations and horrors of war, and the failings of Southern leaders, with unflinching honesty. He does not glorify the Southern army or its government, nor does he try to justify his occasionally ungentlemanly conduct and speech. The full range of his emotions is exhibited in this memoir, reactions he had to the complex changes that occurred within his own circle, as well as in larger Southern society.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from The End of an EraThis book needs this much of an apology. It is to a great extent the autobiography of an insignificant per son. If it were that alone, it would have no excuse for publication, and would possess little interest for those out side the immediate home circle. But it is not an autobio graphy alone. It introduces views of Southern life and feelings and civilization, prior to and during the war, which possess an unflagging interest for the American people and it tells the true story of several striking events which preceded our civil strife, and many episodes of the great war. Besides these, it gives accurate de~ scriptions not heretofore published of the appearance and actions and sayings of many distinguished participants on the Confederate side.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This book needs this much of an apology. It is to a great extent the autobiography of an insignificant person. If it were that alone, it would have no excuse for publication, and would possess little interest for those outside the immediate home circle. But it is not an autobiography alone. It introduces views of Southern life and feelings and civilization, prior to and during the war, which possess an unflagging interest for the American people; and it tells the true story of several striking events which preceded our civil strife, and many episodes of the great war. Besides these, it gives accurate descriptions not heretofore published of the appearance and actions and sayings of many distinguished participants on the Confederate side.... --The first paragraph of the Author's Preface

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

PREFACE THIS book needs this much of an apology. It is to a great extent the autobiography of an insignificant person. If it were that alone, it would have no excuse for publication, and would possess little interest for those outside the immediate home circle. But it is not an autobiography alone. It introduces views of Southern life and feelings and civilization, prior to and during the war, which possess an unflagging interest for the American people; and it tells the true story of several striking events which preceded our civil strife, and many episodes of the great war. Besides these, it gives accurate descriptions not heretofore published of the appearance and actions and sayings of many distinguished participants on the Confederate side. When I first concluded to print the book, I made an honest effort to construct it in the third person. It was a lamentable failure, and made it appear even more egotistical than in its present form. Having returned to the narrative in the first person singular, I found myself a participant in several scenes in which I was not actually present. How to eliminate these, and at the same time preserve the continuity of the narrative, was a serious problem. I solved it at last by the consent of my only living brother that he would stand for me in several episodes having told me all I know.1 I will not mar the narrative by pointing out the places in which my brother is myself. This confession redeems the book from being classed either as an autobiography or a romance; and whenever anybody shall say to me, "Why, you were not there?" I will answer, like the Israelite gentleman, "Yes, I know. Dot vas mine brudder." The reader gets the facts as they were, and that is all he ought to expect.