Bryce, the first book deals with the letters of Lts. Burwell Cotton and George Huntley of the 34th North Carolina. Lt. Huntley was mortally wounded at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, and died the next day. Lt. Cotton wrote approximately ten letters starting on January 2, 1864 and ending on June 17, 1864.These letters are to his sister. Lt. Cotton was killed in action on June 22, 1864 on the Jersusalem Plank Road. I would say that his May 20, 1864 letter near Spotsylvania C.H. is his most interesting since he goes over some of the casualities in his company and the brigade. The editing by Michael Taylor is done well since he has info on the men described by Lt. Cotton.

The second book concerning Colonel Parker and the 30th North Carolina has a chapter eight which deals with the time period December 1863 through February 1865. The battles covered are Morton's Ford, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, the Valley Campaign, and Petersburg. There are not many letters from Colonel Parker during this period since he was severely wounded at the Harris Farm on May 19, 1864. This wound through the right abdomen would put Colonel out of the war. Colonel Parker's letters are to his wife. Michael Taylor uses letters from other men in the regiment and brigade to complete the history of the 30th North Carolina. Chapter nine of the book deals with Petersburg and Appomattox. Again, Taylor has used other accounts of men in the regiment to tell their story. There is an epilogue chapter dealing with the carrer of Colonel Parker after the war and an appendix dealing with all the casualities by battle suffered by the 30th during the war. Please let me know if you need any other information.