Publication Of Note | June 2024
George T. Stevens. “Three Years in the Sixth Corps.” Albany, NY: S.R. Gray Publisher, 1866.
*Throughout 2024 the “Publication of Note” portion of the newsletter will highlight some of the director’s favorite primary sources relevant to the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley published prior to 1940.
Originally published in 1866, this volume was reprinted in 1984 as part of Time Life Books’ Collector’s Library of the Civil War. Stevens, a surgeon in the 77th New York Infantry, covers the regiment’s service from its organization at Saratoga Springs, New York, in the autumn of 1861, through Appomattox.
While Stevens’ account offers much to those who study the Civil War in the east, it is of particular value to students of operations in the Shenandoah Valley during the summer and autumn of 1864. As part of Major General Horatio Wright’s Sixth Corps, the 77th New York was part of the Union force that pursued Confederate general Jubal Early from the gates of the national capital in July 1864 and then became part of the Army of the Shenandoah in August 1864.
Stevens’s account reveals much about the bevy of battles that occurred in the Shenandoah Valley in the summer and autumn of 1864. Additionally, Stevens’ reminiscences offer insight into the experiences of civilians, including enslaved people, who sought refuge with the Army of the Shenandoah as it coursed through the Shenandoah Valley in the autumn of 1864. Finally, Stevens’ account contains his perspectives about how early writers, including regimental historians and newspaper correspondents, portrayed some of the most pivotal moments of General Philip H. Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Campaign.
While first editions of Stevens’ book are quite rare, reprints are readily available on the secondary market. Additionally, the book is available digitally for free at Google Books.
