In the early days of the American Civil War, the want of adequate combat medicine was a constant complaint by officers in the field. Englishman Thomas Ellis already had experience serving the British Army in South Africa when he was appointed Post Surgeon and later Medical Director. Ellis' account of his experiences in battle are riveting. He attempts to avoid any politics or partisanship and sticks to an account of the excitement and sorrow around him. His views of African-Americans are uninformed and unfortunate and certainly influenced by his experiences in South Africa. But this is nevertheless an important contribution to the history Civil War medicine and a fascinating description of his experiences.