"Union soldier, land speculator, and devoted husband and father, William H. Bradbury, an English immigrant to America, created an incredible, revealing body of correspondence to his family during the Civil War. Even though he never surpassed the rank of private, Bradbury's carefully protected "privileged" status gave him extraordinary access to powerful Union figures from Generals Mahlon D. Manson to Daniel Butterfield and future president Benjamin Harrison.".

"Even more fascinating, perhaps, was Bradbury's keen interest in the affairs of his family back home in Illinois. As these letters reveal, Bradbury was a loving and protective father, determined to maintain an active role in the parenting of his children even from hundreds of miles away. While Bradbury was certainly not the only father/soldier to pine for his family from cold and distant campgrounds, few collections of letters to children exist for comparison.

In these letters he exhibits a father's full range of love and concern for his children, sending them everything from advice on good behavior and academic performance to spending money and poetry.".

"Bradbury's correspondence provides a uniquely detailed history of one family's financial and emotional survival during the Civil War. Filled with firsthand reports of important military figures and battles, along with Bradbury's astute observations of place, While Father Is Away is an invaluable resource for the study of mid-19th century American military, business, and family life."--BOOK JACKET.