'Civil War Letters' personal look

FAITH, VALOR, AND DEVOTION: The Civil War Letters of William Porcher DuBose. Edited by Eric Emerson and Karen Stokes. University of South Carolina Press. 360 pages. $49.95.

Of the tens of thousands of Civil War books published, among the most interesting areas of reading are firsthand accounts based on letters, journals or diaries. These provide contemporary insight into the people, places and events of this significant era in the nation's history.

One of the most recent additions to this genre is "Faith, Valor, and Devotion," containing the letters of William Porcher DuBose. Born in Winnsboro, DuBose's letters display a deep love for his wife, God, state and the Confederacy. Also, they reveal much about the rigors of military camps and campaigns. These elements combine to make this book one of the most balanced accounts written of the war in this field of history.

An intellectual, DuBose first graduated from The Citadel, then attended the University of Virginia, where he earned six more degrees. He later entered divinity school in Camden to become an Episcopal priest. But in November 1861, he left the seminary to join the Holcombe Legion as its adjutant and was commissioned a lieutenant. Within a year, he was wounded in three battles, captured, imprisoned, exchanged and then married.

In 1863, he was transferred to Gen. Joseph Kershaw's brigade and served the remainder of the war as its chaplain. After the war, he ministered to congregations in Winnsboro and Abbeville, and in 1871 was elected South Carolina's bishop. Later that year, he became chaplain and a professor at the University of the South. There, DuBose helped establish the university's School of Theology and became its second dean. After 37 years as a theologian and educator, he retired in 1908.

Eric Emerson and Karen Stokes have taken great care in editing and footnoting DuBose's letters to clarify issues and educate readers with information vital to understanding his world. "Faith, Valor, and Devotion" has understandable appeal for Civil War readers interested in military, civilian or religious aspects of the war.