SO LONG, SILVER SPOON

illiam Brooke Rawle could have stayed home and enjoyed an easy life, but he went off to defend the United States. He was a fortunate scion of a wealthy Philadelphia family who graduated from the University, J. Gregory Acken presents Rawle’s edited letters and diary accounts. Rawle not only served in and described major battles such as Brandy Station, where he heard “the shells with their nasty noise. ‘Bang–zzzzZZZZ –bing––boom’ is the best way I can put it on paper,” and Gettysburg, “the bullets flew around my head like hail,” but also the thankless myriad tasks undertaken by the mounted arm.