The despair, angst and fear experienced by soldiers in the American Civil War come to life in the new book Journey to Honor by James G. Buck, which follows the 23rd New Jersey Infantry Regiment from disaster to redemption.
The story is based on the unpublished diary of Josiah Crispin, a young Quaker who believes he must fight to save the Union. The North needs a victory and the Army needs reinforcements, so Crispin and his friends are rushed to Fredericksburg without basic training. The regiment arrives so ill-disciplined and untrained they are written off as a bunch of “Yahoos.â€
The Yahoos are honor-bound to serve nine months. They start an intense on-the-job transition from citizens to soldiers and learn of the many enemies: incompetent officers, deadly new weapons, sickness and savage weather. Crispin keeps a day-by-day account of these events in his diary.
When Crispin is wounded and captured, he finds he has only minutes to choose between losing the record forever or trusting an enemy soldier to send the diary home. Journey to Honor is the true story of the Yahoos’ epic struggle as seen through the eyes of the soldier who lived and died in it.
Jim Buck grew up in Mount Holly, New Jersey and graduated from West Point in 1971. His five years in the Army took him to the Pacific Northwest where he lives today. He is a lifelong military history fan and the Josiah Crispin diary inspired him to write Journey to Honor.
The official records of the 23rd NJ were stolen in 1863 when the army failed to guard them, so there is not much known about the regiment. The Crispin diary provides the framework for Buck to recreate this true story. He has the Crispin Diary, original letters, service records, and after-action reports that provide many of the details.
Journey to Honor (ISBN 978-1-60264-209-6 softcover; 978-1-60264-210-2 hardcover) is available from Virtualbookworm.com, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com. The book can also be ordered from most bookstores around the United States and United Kingdom. More information can be found at the author’s official website, jimbuckbooks.com.
