Booksneeze generously provided the book “Curiosities of the Civil War” in exchange for a book review :)
I usually don't like a book that doesn't tell a story but this odd collection of interesting facts held my interest so much that I couldn't put it down.
I learned so many amazing facts about the Civil War that I never learned in school or anywhere else. Such as the role of wives who went into battle with their husbands.
Also those 5 women were banished from the Union lines within 48 hours for "having acted disrespectfully toward the President."
Or the important role horses filled in the war.
And how about the members of the Ohio regiments who "seized" the locomotive General in a 90-mile chase before being captured.
The New York "World" warned any man near St. Louis in a Federal uniform that he was in mortal danger. "Mrs. Willow & a free colored woman named Hanna Courtena were arrested for selling poisoned pies to the soldiers at Camp Benton."
As in any war there are stories of unbelievable bravery of the soldiers who lost hands, arms, legs and continued in their mission.
A British journalist described President Lincoln: "that he is ugly is nothing; to add that his figure is grotesque is to convey no adequate impression."
Did President Lincoln have Marfan syndrome? A condition that causes elongated arms & legs.
It was an easy read and I recommend it to anyone who loves history and truth.
