| The Greatest Trials I Ever Had: The Civil War Letters of Margaret and Thomas Cahill Subjects: Cahill Thomas 1827–1869 -- Correspondence; Cahill Margaret –1870 -- Correspondence; United States. Army. Connecticut Infantry Regiment 9th (1861–1865); United States -- History -- Civil War 1861–1865 -- Personal narratives; Soldiers -- Connecticut --; This edited collection of Civil War correspondence between Col. Thomas Cahill and his wife, Margaret, offers a rare glimpse into the symbiotic relationship between soldiers and their home communities. In the only substantial extant collection of letters from an Irish American woman on the northern home front, Margaret's pivotal role as a go-between in the financial affairs of men in the regiment and their wives is made evident, as is the broader interplay between the community of New Haven, Connecticut, and the regiment. RYAN W. KEATING is an assistant professor at California State University, San Bernardino. He is the author of the forthcoming book Shades of Green: Irish Regiments, American Soldiers, and Local Communities in the Civil War Era . |