"Johnny Green of the Orphan Brigade" by Johnny Green, edited by A.D. Kirwan

"Johnny Green of the Orphan Brigade: The Journal of a Confederate Soldier" was a very enjoyable book to read.  The copy I got was edited by A.D. Kirwin with a new forward by Kent Masterson Brown.

The Orphan Brigade was a group of recruits from Kentucky who fought for the Confederacy.  Johnny Green joins the Brigade, and ends up seeing a lot of action during the Civil War, participating in almost all of their battles.

Editor A.D. Kirwin points out that the "journal" is really more of a memoir, as Green seems to be constructing some of his story from memory.  There are things that Johnny mentions that he could not have known of at the time of the Civil War.  Still, at other times he appears to be discussing something as it happens.

It would be very possible (and enjoyable) to read the text of Green as it is.  He gives great accounts of his own personal injuries during the fighting.  He talks about what was going on, to him, during several of the well known battles.  That's what is so much fun about reading a first hand account like this.  The stories of the battles, in general, have been told over and over.  First hand accounts, from such a small perspective are exceptionally rare.  From Johnny Green, we get to hear from a real Confederate about his daily life.  We are able to enjoys stories about the scarcity of food and the resourcefulness of hungry soldiers.  We hear about soldiers dying, and soldiers getting injured....  we also hear about soldiers getting injured but being mistaken for dead.  Johnny tells us about trading with Union soldiers during truces.  He talks about gambling, and soldiers finding religion (and then temporarily giving up their gambling habits).

A.D. Kirwin (an interesting character himself) does a great job of giving intros to each section/battle, helping with some of the historical accounts of what Johnny is going through at that moment.  He also gives side note throughout the book.  If Johnny mentions a fellow soldier, Kirwin gives us the brief historical facts about that person.  He also confirms (or corrects) Johnny accounts as needed.

I have to give a lot of credit to Kirwin AND Brown for their helpful contributions to the book.  Both obviously care a lot about the source material, and Johnny Green's story.  Kirwin's notes are very helpful to the reader.  Kent Masterson Brown's 20 page forward also gives some more detail about Johnny's story, and the Orphan Brigade.  In fact, I enjoyed rereading his contribution after reading the main text.  That really helped with understanding the entire story.