Book Synopsis
Private Joel Newlin - Company D - 66th Indiana Volunteer Infantry
Condensed Edition - Text-only Version
This version of the book does not have any photos, illustrations, or maps.
Joel Newlin was my great-grandfather and I have been searching for his family history for over 20 years. He was a Private in Company D, 66th Indiana Infantry in the Civil War. A letter he wrote from a Union Army camp in 1862 is the only writing we have about his Civil War experience in his own words. I found letters, a diary, and a memoir written by other members of the 66th Indiana Infantry that tell us what was going on in his regiment, and I also found letters, diaries, and books written by other people involved in those events. By weaving these firsthand accounts together we can construct a plausible story of his life during the Civil War. We will never see the war through his eyes, but I believe we can see some of what he experienced through the eyes of other people who were nearby.