The Story of a Common Soldier of Army Life in the Civil War, 1861-1865

About This Audiobook

Leander Stillwell’s *The Story of a Common Soldier* isn’t just another Civil War account—it’s a boots-on-the-ground confession from a man who lived it. Stillwell, a 16-year-old farm boy turned infantryman, recounts his four years of service with brutal honesty and surprising humor. Unlike polished regimental histories, this memoir crackles with immediacy, from the muddy chaos of Shiloh to the suffocating trenches of Vicksburg. Every page drips with the stench of gunpowder, the gnaw of hunger, and the sheer luck of survival. It’s a time capsule of mid-19th century military life, where heroism often meant enduring, not charging. For listeners who want history that breathes—and sometimes wheezes—this is your book. The prose is plainspoken but vivid, and the audiobook strips away the scholarly veneer, leaving raw experience in its place.

Gregg Rizzo’s narration is the secret sauce here. His voice isn’t a booming orator’s; it’s the measured, slightly gravelly tone of a man reading aloud from a well-worn diary. Rizzo nails the balance between gravitas and folksy charm, especially in Stillwell’s lighter moments—like when the author muses on army food or the absurdity of drill routines. The pacing keeps up with Stillwell’s winding storytelling, never rushing but never dragging. This isn’t a performance; it’s a performance *of* someone. If you’ve ever wanted to hear the Civil War through the eyes of the man holding the musket, not the one writing the orders, this audiobook delivers.