Centrally located and only a few hours from the front lines, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, became a very important crossroads for the Union war effort. Inside the city, Camp Curtin was the Civil War equivalent of Fort Bragg or Parris Island. Camp Curtin also served as a supply base and a major hospital depot. During the invasions of 1862 and 1863, Harrisburg's Camp Curtin was critical in organizing the militia to stop the invaders.

Civil War City adds an important chapter to the story of the common soldier. Bill Miller, the author, tells the camp's story through the experience of the men who lived there. Here is the history of the unwrit heroes, the farmers, clerks, machinists, and school boys who were suddenly thrust into the heat and dust of the world of a soldier. This is an account of the war from a soldier's point of view—from home to training camp, to the battlefields and the hospital, then back to camp and home again. Harrisburg was part of the war-time experiences of hundreds of thousands, and just as Gettysburg and Petersburg and Appomattox each has a place in the story of the Civil War, so too does Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

"This study opens a brand-new vista for Civil War research and writing."

Bud Robertson

"Anyone interested in the Army of the Potomac and Pennsylvania units will find the book a gold mine of information."

The Civil War Courier