Francis C. Barlow rose from lieutenant to general, suffered two serious wounds in combat, and played critical roles in battles at Fair Oaks, Gettysburg, and Spotsylvania. Barlow’s war correspondence not only provides a rich description of his experiences in these actions but also offer insight into a civilian learning the realities of war and the burdens of command.

Barlow was well connected with many eminent figures of his time, having such friends as Dr. Samuel G. Howe, Ralph W. Emerson, Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., John M. Forbes, and Winslow Homer. His letters help fill a gap in Civil War scholarship by providing a valuable window into Northern intellectual responses to the war.