In many ways, this is very much a common soldier's story. What makes it uncommon, however, is the origin of the men fighting to defend Confederate interests at Vicksburg in late 1862 through July 1863. These East Tennesseans have never had a voice, since it was the victors from their section of the state who wrote the histories. At no other time during the war did this number of Confederates from the eastern end of Tennessee serve in one place in defense of the South. Using a number of letters home, reminiscences, records, and diaries kept during the long hours in the hot and filthy 'ditches' (as they called them), a story emerges of sacrifice and adaptability, of boredom and submission to inevitability. As much as is possible, this story is told in their own words.
