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John Bard's History of the Old Bucktails - Hardcover
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by:
ISBN:
0-7414-8370-X
©2013
Price:
$22.95
Book Size:
8.5" x 11"
, 195 pages
Category/Subject:
HISTORY / General
Bard’s scrapbook, “The Story of the Old Bucktails,” was published in the Curwensville Herald newspaper in the 1880’s. Unavailable to the public since then it is a compelling read.
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Abstract:
Bard’s Scrapbook takes the reader back to a time when the veterans of the American Civil War sat around the G.A.R. halls or at regimental reunions and spun their tales of duty and sacrifice in the service of their country. In the pages of this book one can imagine himself as part of the gathering of soldiers. The story of the Old Bucktails comes alive as Lieutenant Bard relates the history of the 1st Penna. Rifles in an account from the hand of a veteran, a Raftsman’s Ranger from Co. K of the 42nd regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteers.
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Customer Reviews
History of the Old Bucktails
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01/13/2014
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Reviewer:
SB
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John Bard’s History of the Old Bucktails
“War brings out the worst and the best in man.” This statement is illustrated by the retrospective memoirs of Captain John Bard, Company K of the 1st Penna. Rifles, i.e. The Old Bucktails.
Bard’s Scrapbook, as locals have known it for more than half a century, starts out in Curwensville, PA, where Jon Bard rises to the call for volunteers to preserve the Union. He takes us, as readers of his newspaper at the time (The Grit), from his enlistment to the end of his three-year tour of duty with the Bucktails. The tales that are told show the best and worst of the war: the battles, the boredom, the endless marches, the pride in their winter camps, the pranks, and the theft of whiskey from supply trains and mistaken theft and consumption of laudanum resulting in several deaths unrelated to battle. All of these accounts make for a more personal detail than the regimental.
The “Scrapbook” was one of the primary sources for Thompson & Rauch’s regimental: History of the Bucktails, but Bard’s articles tell a more personal account of the time in service. The style is much like The Civil War Diaries of Wyman S. White, a New Hampshire sharpshooter from Company F of the 2nd U.S.S.S., ironically, with whom the Bucktails share a great deal of similar history as well as their Sharps rifles.
One of the best things about the new book is the addendums that editor D. Shaffner adds to the printing. Since their first appearance in “The Grit” over 100 years ago, these articles have never been published, remaining tucked away until now. An escape from a train to Andersonville prison and the justification of the name, “Ol’ Buckails”, add to the overall history of the 42nd Regiment of the Pennsylvania Reserves. These items and Ronn Palm’s great collection of Bucktail period pictures contained within, make the book, a must have!
I personally am looking forward to the future publishing of Bard’s views on the war, which may come in time. Thank you, Dennis Shaffner, Ronn Palm and the Clearfield Historical Society for this valuable work, printed at last.
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