Yours for the Union: The Civil War Letters of John W. Chase, First Massachusetts Light Artillery

Yours for the Union takes us inside the life and mind of Civil War soldier John Chase during his service with the Army of the Potomac. Chase was a 36 year-old cabinetmaker from Roxbury (and a widower with four young children) when he enlisted as a private in the First Massachusetts Light Artillery. His letters portray a man trying to provide for his children, maintain his finances, and obtain food and clothing to supplement his meager rations, all while fighting a war. While he was a patriotic Northerner, his occasionally crude language reflects his strong opinion of abolitionists, and especially, of abolitionist politicians.