When I first received this book in the mail, I was a bit disappointed to see that it was an oversized book. I prefer volumes of more standard size as they are easier to hold while reading.
When I started reading this book, however, something unexpected happened - I started understanding and appreciating this book’s size, finding that it suits this particular book very well because of one of the work’s more impressive features.
The heart of this book is the numerous first-hand accounts of the Battles of Spring Hill and Franklin, from Yankees and Rebels, generals and privates, and the ranks in-between. It even includes writings from local citizens, and adds a chapter about the immediate aftermath of the bloodshed.
The selections come from an impressive variety of sources - letters, emoirs, newspapers, official reports, and more.
First-hand, primary perspectives of the war, especially of battles, are valuable resources, popular with students, authors, and others interested in the Civil War. This book is a fine addition to that genre.
With that said, I was pleasantly surprised by the maps that kick off each chapter. They show the area of fighting covered in the chapter, with the narratives following. This layout is ideal for the purpose of this book, especially with how the accounts in each chapter are numbered based on the order of appearance. The numbers are then placed on the chapter’s map, showing where on the battlefield that the writer had been during the action the text describes. I found myself frequently flipping back to the map as I read a new narrative. It was fascinating to do so for individual entries as well as comparing the perspectives of multiple authors.
For non-experts on these fights - such as myself - this is a valuable resource, adding context to each account. I still make no claim of detailed knowledge of Spring Hill and Franklin, but I know more than I did when I started reading it, certainly a sign of an effective book. That outcome is, after all, the main reason for reading books like this.
I had not seen maps like these before, and the larger pages are perfectly suited for them. Smaller maps may have worked, but not as effectively as these large ones. Simply because of this, my attitude on the size of this book changed. Reworking a truism, I should not have judged this book by the size of its cover.
I did find the larger pages a bit misleading in one perspective, however. The book, though tall, appears to be skinny, making it look like a short, quick read, but the larger pages naturally allow for more text on each page. There was more to read in it than I expected, perhaps simply my mistake. It may not be the longest book ever, but it is not as short as its thin appearance implies.
Two nits I can pick on this work are that some of the captions printed on the photos are a bit difficult to read, sometimes blending into the background. Nonetheless, the photos are another asset to this book.
Additionally, the lack of page numbers is surprising at first.
Neither of these critiques, however, is a major flaw. I grew accustomed to them as I read, an easy adaption to make. (For example, I simply learned to make sure my bookmark was solidly in place when I had to sit the book down.)
Overall, Through Their Eyes is a fine book, a terrific assortment of eyewitness observations and memories of the hard fighting and its resulting carnage. I certainly encourage others to read it.
As an added bonus, all proceeds from this work “go directly toward reclamation and preservation here in Spring Hill and Franklin,” per the Battle of Franklin Trust’s Facebook post from December 3, 2025. Thst is good to know.
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