"Thirteen Months in the Rebel Army - Being a Narrative of Personal Adventures in the Infantry, Ordnance, Cavalry, Courier, and Hospital Services; With an Exhibition of the Power, Purposes, Earnestness, Military Despotism, and Demoralization of the South" by An Impressed New Yorker [later attributed to William G. Stevenson], New York: A.S. Barnes & Burr, 1863. First Edition, later printing [first printing appeared with '1862' on the title page].

Embossed hard boards, brown cloth [some wear, letters 'FR' are carved into cloth of the back cover, spine cloth repair: see photos]; 4.3/4" x 6.7/8"; large old glue stain on the front endpaper [see photo]; wood engraved frontispiece by N. [Nathaniel Orr, 232 pages + 4 page publisher's ad + 2 blanks, inscriptions inside back cover, some soiling and wear, very good condition.

This book quickly became a bestseller in the North during the Civil War. "Thirteen Months in the Rebel Army" has been cited as reference material in several publications, such as the 1993' biography of General Thomas C. Hindman, Lion of the South, by Diane Neal and Thomas W. Kremm; "Fort Pillow, a Civil War Massacre, and Public Memory" by John Cimprich (2011); "Cannoneers in Gray: The Field Artillery of the Army of Tennessee, 1861-1865" by Larry J. Daniel (2005) and other historical publications.

The personality of the author of Thirteen Months remains obscure, initially it was published anonym by "Impressed New Yorker" and later attributed to William G. Stevenson. The suggestion that William G. Stevenson was a physician is based on the statements in the "Thirteen Months" -- there are is no supporting documentation. The claim that the author was "a physician from Troy N.Y." is based on mistaken identity, a confusion with a contemporary Dr. William Stevenson from Troy, NY. The claim that the author of "Thirteen Months" was a correspondent for the Memphis Avalanche covering the war in the South is based on another confusion: In the book "Cannoneers in Gray," Larry Daniel mentions both sources-- "Memphis Avalanche" and "Thirteen Months" as credits in one endnote -- there is no connection.

Reviews:

Nevins I, page 163-- "a highly excitable author's account of his almost bizarre adventures in trying to re-gain the Union lines; the study was probably written primarily for propagandistic purposes." John Marquardt, in his essay titled "Kentucky's Baron Munchausen" also questions the authenticity of William G. Stevenson, and argues that the "Thirteen Months in the Rebel Army" is a 'Baron Munchausen' tale, "In 1760, Baron Munchhausen became famous throughout Europe as an after-dinner raconteur who gave lurid and highly exaggerated accounts of his many wartime exploits. A hundred years later, a young man from Kentucky named William G. Stevenson wrote an almost equally colorful narrative of his rather incredible experiences while serving in various branches of the Confederate armed forces during 1861 and '62." [John Marquardt. "Kentucky's Baron Munchausen" November, 2015]

A few passages from Marquardt's essay:

"...There is, however, a further major problem with Stevenson's account, and that is the simple fact that brevets were never used by the Confederate armed services. After ... elevation to second lieutenant, Stevenson...had become tired of life in the infantry and somehow effected a transfer to the Ordnance Department in December of 1861. Shortly after entering that service, he told of being put in command of a twenty-seven car train that was carrying a Tennessee infantry regiment and a load of ammunition to the Confederate forces in Bowling Green, Kentucky... Stevenson, with no railroad experience whatsoever, was ordered to drive the train to its destination. Soon after his arrival, Stevenson came down with pneumonia... After his recovery in February of 1862, Stevenson then suddenly felt he would like to try the cavalry, and was immediately allowed to transfer there as an "acting captain" with Colonel John H. Morgan's troopers. Two months later, however, we suddenly find Stevenson serving as a courier on the staff of General John C. Breckinridge, the former vice-president of the United States, just prior to the Battle of Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee. During that major engagement, Stevenson was given a dispatch for the commander of the Confederate forces, General Albert S. Johnston, and he wrote of standing just a few feet from the General when an exploding shell caused Johnston's fatal wound. After the incident, Stevenson, noted that it was he who personally reported General Johnston's death to the Army's second in command, General P.T.G. Beauregard, and then carried dispatches from Beauregard to the other generals on the field. During the last stages of the battle, Stevenson was hit by a piece of a spent shell and while the injury, actually a serious bruise, was certainly not life-threatening, he was admitted to an Army hospital in Corinth, Mississippi, and on April 8th, he received an honorable discharge due to being classified as unfit for military service..."

"In a further fantastic twist, Stevenson claimed that on the basis of his merely having attended a couple of medical lectures during his college days in New York, the head of the hospital, Dr. Josiah C. Nott, appointed him as an assistant surgeon. This seems highly unlikely, as such persons would have to have either a medical degree or at least extensive medical training. Furthermore, since that position carried the rank and pay of a cavalry captain, such an appointment had to also be approved by the Confederate Medical Department. To make the story even more amazing, Stevenson claimed that the following month Dr. Nott ordered him to Selma, Alabama, to serve as the head of the Army hospital in that city. It was during May of 1862 on his way to Selma that Stevenson finally decided to make his escape from the Confederacy..."

"While many of the events in Stevenson's narrative may seem unbelievable, his life story, or the lack of one, is just as mysterious.. As far as his education is concerned, the author merely referred to studying under a "Professor Owen" at the New York Free Academy. That institution actually existed in Manhattan in the 19th Century, and is now the City College of New York... The instructor mentioned by Stevenson would have been Dr. John J. Owen, which would also indicate that the author's studies undoubtedly included classic Greek and Latin literature. There were, however, no medical courses offered at the Free Academy . . . hence, no "medical lectures."

...Furthermore, no biographies or photographs of Stevenson seem to have ever been published, and there are apparently no records available pertaining to his birth, later life or the date and place of his death. Likewise, there are now very few contemporary press accounts on file of either Stevenson or his popular book, and those that still exist, such as a front page piece in the October 7, 1862, issue of the Louisville (Kentucky) Daily Journal, merely present excerpts from the book, with no critical comments or biographical information..." [John Marquardt. "Kentucky's Baron Munchausen" November, 2015]

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