Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer

By: General G. Moxley Sorrel

Narrated by: John Lescault

Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Written by the officer who became General Longstreet’s most trusted associate, this collection of firsthand accounts, memoirs, and diaries grants the listener an inside view into the workings of the Confederate army staff - the unknown soldiers, the well-known commanders, politicians, nurses, and civilians - relating the events of the Civil War as Lt. Colonel Gilbert Moxley Sorrel experienced it.

Public Domain (P)2020 Blackstone Publishing

Great insight to the ANV

Great insight to the men who led the army of northern Virginia. These recollections help us to understand some of the decisions that were made during the campaigns.

A Well Written Memoir from the Confederate Side

I wanted to read this after touring the Sorrel house in Savannah. Was interesting and entertaining memoir to see perspective of key war generals from the confederate point of view.

Best narration

one of the best narrators I've listened to. very enjoyable to listen to. thank you

Beautiful Retelling of History

This was a beautiful and articulate retelling of history. Being a scholar of the American Civil War and such, I enjoyed it very much.

Fascinating Account of a Staff Officer

I had not heard of Moxley Sorrel before a trip to Historic Downtown Savannah where I walked past his beautiful boyhood home identified by a Ga Historical Marker. The home itself has been saved by reinventing itself as a haunted house for the tourist trade. I am a history buff and recently began reading books on the civil war. I prefer books that provide first hand accounts.
(Company Aytch by Sam Watkins & Memoirs of a Confederate Scout & Sharpshooter by Berry Benson) so was interested in reading Sorrel's book.This book is different in that it is from a staff officer at the highest level in the Confederacy. Sorrel gives detailed but brief sketches of many of the well known Confederate high ranking officers - both personality and physical appearance. The various rivalries among officers are very interesting as are the reactions of President Davis, Lee and Longstreet to the feuds. Sorrel gives descriptions of numerous townspeople who came to the militay camp to complain and Longstreet's reaction to the locals grievances. One thing I especially enjoyed in this book were the horse stories. The importance of horses in the Civil War and their often dreadful fate has often gone unnoticed. Due to a reference in the book to a visiting British Officer, I am now reading Three Months in the Southern States by Capt. Freemantle. Sorrel's book is an easy read, quite well written and insightful. I recommend it to anyone interested in the civil war.

Interesting

Being a person interested in the American Civil War this was well done and fascinating from a first person point of view.

Great

Always best to hear it from a man there….. and from a staff member. One of the best.

A Must For Anyone Interested In The Civil War.

This recollection of General Sorrel is a must read for Confederate history. It isn't a battle by battle description, but a free flowing description of the interesting people and the behind the scene stories of the war. This has been one of my favorite reads among hundreds of Civil War books.

Listen to the stories from the side that lost

Very good reflections and seemingly honest apprasial
Harry Truman indicated you learn much more from listening to the losers of conflicts

Win or Learn.

Awful narration

Why do audiobook companies decide to have civil war classics narrated by individuals who have such a difficult time reading antebellum accounts in normal voices.

This is a fascinating story that is ruined by the narrator’s attempt to sound like a “southern gentleman.” In the process, he mispronounces nearly every other word/name, and draws out his words that it makes this an unlistenable story.

A shame, really.