This is the story of the men who fought and died in the 72nd New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Part of Dan Sickles' famed Excelsior Brigade, the 72nd New York served in all the major actions associated with the III Corps, losing one-fourth or more of the regiment in three different engagements. The narrative of the war is told in the words of the men who were there.

Drawing on soldier's letters, diaries, memoirs (many unpublished or obscure) and official reports, this work follows these men from the exciting beginnings of recruitment, the boredom and frustrations of life policing the secessionist countryside of Southern Maryland, through to the eventual disbanding of the regiment in July of 1864 after being bled white at Williamsburg, the Peninsula, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and the Overland Campaign. A final chapter offers a brief account of many of the men's lives following the war. Included in the work are photographs, period illustrations, maps and an organizational chart. A complete roster is arranged by company with chronologies of officers' service.