Brother of Mine: The Civil War Letters of Thomas and William Christie

In 1861, as President Lincoln called for volunteers to defend the Union, Thomas Christie wrote to his father, voicing desires shared by many an enlistee: "I do want to 'see the world,' to get out of the narrow circle in which I have always lived, to 'make a man of myself,' and to have it to say in days to come that I, too, had a part in this great struggle."

As it turned out, Thomas had an excellent partner in his quest: his brother William. Both signed on with the First Minnesota Light Arti...