Publication displays photocopies of one-of-a-kind 150 year old letters from the battlefield, written by a homesick volunteer to his mother and father. John Shook evolves from callow farm boy to battle hardened soldier who was an eyewitness to some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The book is remarkable for the perfectly preserved envelopes and artwork propagandizing the war in the service of boosting troop morale.