Matthew C. Yow was a husband, father, and farmer in Moore County, North Carolina when the Civil War began in1861. A year later he left his wife, Catharine, and their young children behind as he reluctantly joined the Confederate ranks. These letters, written to his "dear wife and little children" tell his story as a private in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Matthew's declarations of homesickness and frustration about the issues of his day are heard loud and clear, interspersed between the telling of battles and camp life.

These letters also inform us about the hardships Catharine and the children suffered on the home front; the farm work was overwhelming, some neighbors were unruly, and bands of deserters and other groups caused mischief. Matthew did his best to encourage his wife by giving advice through the mail.

Matthew fought from the Seven Days Battles in 1862 until he was mortally wounded at the North Anna River in 1864 during the Overland Campaign. In letters home, Matthew expressed his hope to be remembered by those he loved. The author hopes readers will remember him for who he was, an ordinary family man caught up in the political and social turmoil of his day, during America's most tragic time.

This book contains 24 images including letters, photographs, and a map, to help tell Matthew's story. There is an index that contains more than 200 names of Matthew's family members, neighbors, and comrades. These people are the ancestors of many who presently live in Moore County, North Carolina, and the surrounding area. Family historians who have descended from Matthew and Catharine and others in the book will treasure these letters and the story they tell. Civil War history buffs who study the 48th North Carolina Infantry Regiment or Cooke's brigade will find valuable information to understand those units better. By studying another ordinary soldier in the Army of Northern Virginia, historians may find more first-person material to support what is already documented. These letters, so delightfully written by a man to his wife and children, help us to feel empathy for the families of the Civil War era.