The memoir of a South Mississippi soldier who served under Robert E. Lee in the Civil War is a new book edited by two state historians.
Brought together by Mississippi State's Michael B. Ballard and Thomas D. Cockrell of Blue Mountain College, the 354-page account by Pvt. David Holt is sometimes humorous and frequently terrifying as he describes the experiences of a common soldier.
"A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern Virginia" (Louisiana State University Press) also tells of Holt's life among the affluent of Wilkinson County before the war. His comments on social customs, slavery and education add many details to the picture of antebellum plantation society.
Ballard, an Ackerman native, is a professor and university archivist. Cockrell is a Louisville native and chairman of the social science division at Blue Mountain. Both are doctoral graduates of Mississippi State.
Ballard said that, while Holt's antebellum observations are enlightening, "he is at his best" when describing his wartime experiences.
"Holt saw action in most of Lee's campaigns and battles and his battle descriptions rank among the most graphic, dramatic and poignant accounts written by any participant in the war," Ballard said.
Ballard also is the author of "A Long Shadow: Jefferson Davis and the Final Days of the Confederacy," "Pemberton: A Biography" and "Landscapes of Battle: The Civil War."