Tuf as a Boiled Owl: The Civil War Letters of Proctor Swallow 7th Vermont Volunteer Regiment

Proctor Swallow’s letters to his friend and brother-in-law Loomis Spalding depict the ordinary Civil War soldier’s view of camp life, eagerness to know what is going on in other parts of the war and concern for the family at home. He describes, sometimes vividly, the places and events he sees and relates them to what he remembers. He would be at home with the Doughboy or GI Joe. Proctor Swallow mustered into the Seventh Vermont Volunteer Regiment at its formation at the Rutland Fair Groun…