Coffin's exciting saga, written with the immediacy of a combat
correspondent, dramatizes why and how a small, poor, remote Northern
state responded so quickly and enthusiastically to President Lincoln's
first call to arms in 1861. From the defense of Washington and the siege
of Richmond, from Big Bethel to Cedar Creek, we observe the bravery and
exploits of Vermont's farm-bred troops who turned the tide in pivotal
battles to preserve the Union. More than 10 percent of Vermont's entire
population-34,238 Green Mountain men and boys-served in the war,
sustaining one of the largest per capital losses incurred by a Northern
state.