Erastus Winters not only survived disease, battle, and the Confederate prison camp at Cahaba, on the way home he survived what is still the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history—the sinking of the steamboat Sultana. His sometimes humorous, sometimes thrilling, and sometimes poignant true tale of a young man at war is one of the best by a private soldier in the Union army. He fought in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign and describes his feelings when under fire for the first time. He became a seasoned combat soldier but was not afraid to admit when he felt terrified. During the battle of Franklin, he was captured and sent to Cahaba, where he endured months of mud, filth, starvation, and vermin. As if that was not enough, when finally released and on his way home, he was nearly killed in the explosion on the Sultana, which claimed over 1,700 lives.