Additional information
by Henry N. Blake (Author), Robert D. Morss (Editor), Frederick B. Arner (Foreword by)
Three Years in the Army of the Potomac is a narrative history of the Eleventh Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (U.S. Civil War) by one of its line officers. It was written in late 1864 and early 1865 while its author, Henry Nichols Blake, was recuperating from a wound received at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House. The Eleventh Massachusetts was a three-year regiment formed in Boston and Essex County that participated in every Eastern Theater campaign except Antietam. The Army and Navy Journal of May 13, 1865 remarked on the unusual nature of the book:
It is the boldest and bitterest stricture on military operations as yet evoked by this war - a spoonful of fresh horseradish, quite a relish in its peculiarity. If sustained by evidence, it will prove an important source of information for writers upon the operations of the Army of the Potomac.
This version presents the original text to modern readers with minor editing, mainly for typographical errors. It includes footnotes, an appendix, and a bibliography.
