Description: "Based on the original 1982 edition, edited by Gregory A. Coco."--title page.
Review Quotes:
"Gregory Acken's editing and annotation is superb. This improved second edition of Mills's letters is an important contribution to Civil War literature in general and to understanding the progress of the campaigns in Virginia in 1864-65." --Journal of America's Military Past
"Few primary sources better inform us about the lives of Civil War soldiers than do their letters. .... With the recent publication of Through Blood and Fire in a "revised and expanded edition," and expertly edited by J. Gregory Acken, bibliophiles now have an opportunity to finally read and own what is widely considered as one of the finest collections of published letters in existence." --Emerging Civil War
"Students of the Civil War can indeed be glad that Major Mills was able to do his duty and record his experiences and opinions. Through Blood and Fire is an excellent collection of letters, valuable to the researcher as well as the casual reader. Acken has done a superb job of editing them.... [and] provides the kind of critical context on campaigns and battles that many such edited works lack." --Civil War Monitor
"This volume was originally privately published by the well-known history enthusiast, author, and battlefield guide Gregory Coco in 1982, after he acquired a collection of artifacts and letters of the author, a Bostonian who served in several capacities during the war. The present publication adds to the understanding of this interesting young officer, whose life was ultimately cut short, and makes the volume of valuable information more widely available, as the original publication was a limited run. The current editor, Mr. Acken, has substantially added to the notes, introductions, and explanations, enhancing the value of the collection to a high degree." --Civil War Book Review
"Acken has done a fine job incorporating new material discovered since the original 1982 limited edition." --North & South
"This second edition of Through Blood and Fire improves upon the original version by increasing reader understanding of the people, places, and events in Charles J. Mills' letters home. Taken as a whole, Through Blood and Fire is a worthy successor to Greg Coco's rare original and should be on the shelves of anyone interested in the Petersburg Campaign." --The Siege of Petersburg Online
"In the many collections of Civil War letters published, those of Charlie Mills stand out. A line officer and, for much of the war, a staff officer, he had a unique perspective of the conflict. Greg Acken has done a superb job of editing and annotating Mills's letters and providing context." --D. Scott Hartwig, author of To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign of 1862
"Charles G. Mills's observations about military affairs, Union commanders, northern politics, and other topics constitute a treasure trove of evidence to be savored by students of the conflict." --Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Enduring Civil War: Reflections on the Great American Crisis
"Likeable, smart, articulate, and observant, Charles Mills left behind a written chronicle of an officer's life rarely exceeded in the literature of the Civil War--a close, vivid look at an army in the process of ultimate victory. Mills's Civil War letters are beautifully resurrected, edited, and annotated by Greg Acken and must become a standard source for anyone with an interest in the Army of the Potomac or the human experience of war." --John Hennessy, retired National Park Service historian and author of Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas