To Drive the Enemy From Southern Soil (Voices from the American Civil War)

At the outbreak of war, well-connected and established farmer and family man Francis Marion Parker enlisted with the Halifax County company, the “Enfield Blues,” in 1859, determined to do his duty and fight for what he believed to be the just cause of Southern freedom. Repeatedly proving his ability on the battlefield, he quickly rose through the ranks to become Colonel in charge of the 30th Regiment North Carolina Troops. Parker and his men went on to find themselves providing critical support at the forefront of almost every important engagement of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Author Michael W. Taylor uses detailed academic research and the personal correspondence of Colonel Parker — primarily letters written home to his wife — to recount the full history of this vitally important regiment from its inception in September 1861 to its final surrender at Appomattox in 1865. The result is a deeply personal record of the daily life and cares of a Civil War soldier. A religious man devoted to his family, Parker’s letters encapsulate the difficulties of long separations from loved ones and his concern for the successful management of his farm.

The war claimed the lives of 517 of the 1,608 young men who served with the regiment, brought down by disease or slain on the battlefield. Parker was one of the lucky few; despite several severe wounds, he survived the end of the war and returned home to his beloved Southern soil.

To Drive the Enemy from Southern Soil is essential reading for anyone interested in the American Civil War, military history, and the sacrifice of a generation of ordinary fighting men and their families.