West Hartford resident publishes Civil War memoir

Long-time West Hartford resident Quincy Abbot inherited a trunkful of letters and journals written by an ancestor who, as a 14-year-old lad, wrote of his aspirations to become a serious writer. Ultimately, he experienced the challenges of growing up in a large, rather complex family in pre-Civil War New England, enlisted in the Union Army, and died in combat at the tender age of 21.

Now, 150 years later, Quincy Abbot has brought Stanley's exceptional writing skills to light with the February 15, 2013 publication of From Schoolboy to Soldier: The Correspondence and Journals of Edward Stanley Abbot, 1853-1863. I like to think that Stanley would be pleased to be recognized as a published author.

From Schoolboy to Soldier is an intensely personal account of the short but meaningful life of a mid-19th century young New England lad—his struggles with himself, his siblings and parents, and the world as he attempts to establish himself as a writer, an adult, and an officer in the Union Army of the Potomac. 

The attached release below tells more about the book and about Stanley, whose great granduncle happened to be Nathan Hale.

There's additional information at www.fromschoolboytosoldier.com, including several excerpts from the book that will give you the flavor of the book.

When Quincy Abbot retired from a fulfilling career as an insurance executive, he immersed himself in searching through additional family papers at Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Yale Sterling Library and the Library of Congress, compiling his findings, and editing them into this engrossing narrative of young Stanley's life. From Schoolboy to Soldier is a testimony to family histories and the preservation of family documents.

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