Sacrifice of Self: Nahant and the Civil War

By Steven C. Eames
Illustrated, footnotes, bibliography, index, 159 pp., 2007. Nahant Historical Society, 41 Valley Rd., Nahant, MA 01908, $25 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Blake A. Magner

Blake A. Magner is the Book Review Editor of Civil War News. He makes his liv­ing as an editor, writer, car­tographer and photographer of Civil War history. He is author of At Peace With Honor: The Civil War Burials of Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Review:

 This is the second volume of town Civil War histories that I have read within the last few months. Though both were very good I prefer Sacrifice of Self as it seems to go deeper into the experiences of the soldiers on the war front.

The book is divided into several sections beginning with antebellum Nahant which describes Nahant, Mass., its population and location as well as its reaction to slavery and abolition. In the chapter “Nahant Goes to War” the author describes the regiments that contained Nahant residents and their experiences during the war.

A chapter on New Bern, N.C., describes the actions and fighting in that area. For some reason many of the regiments with Nahant men passed through New Bern and took part in the surrounding actions. In “The Home Front” the happenings of the town during and following the war are described.

The remaining two chapters discuss the town’s veterans and organizations and eventual passings. A brief appendix lists the Civil War burials in the town’s cemetery.

This is a nicely produced volume with crisp, clear and interesting photographs. The author writes well and the story line flows nicely. If the reader is interested in Massachusetts Civil War history I would recommend this volume.