GENERAL JOHN BRATTON chronicles the life of one who was present at the Civil War's dramatic beginning at Fort Sumter and survived to participate in its symbolic last act at Appomattox Court House. In a sequence of intimate letters, Bratton, a young Confederate volunteer from South Carolina, reveals the enormouse physical and psychological hardships faced by those who joined the fight. His letters also his expose his struggles with self-doubt as he rises through the ranks, and confronts responsibility and loneliness.