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A True History of Company I, 49th Regiment North Carolina Troops
by W.A. Day
Billy Day joined the 49th North Carolina at age 18. The regimentís initial colonel was Stephen Ramseur. By May 1862 the unit became part of Ransomís Brigade. The 49th North Carolina fought at Malvern Hill and Antietam in 1862. It was then transferred to the North Carolina/southern Virginia region where it saw action in the battles of Booneís Mill, Gum Swamp, and New Bern. In May of 1864, the regiment returned to Petersburg and participated in the defense of the Confederate lines. Perhaps the best portion of the book describes the siegeñthelife in the trenches and the crucial battle of the Crater are particularly detailed. Day was captured at Five Forks and was incarcerated at Point Lookout, Maryland until June 1865.
Day wrote this book with the purpose of keeping alive for fellow veterans the memories of war. He succeeded not only in doing this, but also in providing subsequent generations with a vivid view of the war from a privateís viewpoint.