Book Review: If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss, and A Cause in the Civil War

If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss, and A Cause in the Civil War. By Tyler Alexander. Lincoln, NE: Potomac Books, 2025. Hardcover, 344 pp., $36.95.

Reviewed by Tim Talbott

As consumers of Civil War history we are fortunate that publishers continue making collections of soldiers’ letters available to the reading public. Through them we are able to get a firmer grasp on the wide range of perspectives from the conflict’s fighting men that many broad campaign histories at best too often marginalize and at worst completely leave out. Joining what is already an enormous body of published first-hand soldier accounts is If I Can Get Home This Fall: A Story of Love, Loss, and A Cause in the Civil War by educator Tyler Alexander.

The letters of Dan Mason to Harriet Clark (Mason’s sweetheart, fiancée, and eventual wife) give readers even more primary source evidence to better understand the many challenges that Civil War soldiers faced on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, being that Mason first served as a non-commissioned officer in the famous Vermont Brigade’s 6th Vermont Infantry, and then later as an officer in the 19th United States Colored Infantry (USCI), his missives provide somewhat of a unique opportunity to see how this one soldier viewed the large issues of the day while grappling with the dangers of soldiering and maintaining his ties to the home front.

The book’s preface provides an interesting telling of how Alexander initially became aware of Mason the soldier, and then his letters. Mason served in the same Vermont company and regiment as Alexander’s ancestor. While searching for information about his ancestor, Alexander came across Mason’s letters at the Vermont Historical Society. This bit of serendipity serves as an excellent example of how a little bit of “rabbit hole” exploration can turn up amazing gems. Alexander’s introduction offers a wealth of information about the political situation of Mason’s Orleans County, Vermont, as well as the Green Mountain State’s sentiments on the eve of the Civil War.

Alexander organizes the book into 16 chapters. They cover the four years of Mason’s service, which includes his enlistment in Company D of the 6th Vermont as a 22-year-old corporal in September 1861, his promotion to sergeant in the summer of 1862 and advancement to first sergeant in the spring of 1863, and his promotion and transfer to the 19th USCI in March 1864. Also included are letters during the period following the 19th’s transfer to the Texas/Mexico border after the war where Mason tragically died before making it back home to Harriet.

Each chapter offers some opening contextual information about the period that it covers before sharing the letters Mason sent to Harriet. Interspersed throughout the chapters are accounts from letters and diaries of other soldiers in the 6th Vermont, as well from as excerpts from Vermont newspapers that help provide additional information about the regiment’s experiences.

Mason wrote insightful letters that give readers a good sense of his personality and his many concerns. At times he and Harriet have little written spats and other times he sends her mementos from his travels and adventures to show his love and affection. In several cases, Mason provides clear descriptions about the battles in which his regiments participated. He referred to the 6th Vermont’s role in the battle of Second Fredericksburg as “right smart fighting” (83), and the 19th’s trial by fire at the battle of the Crater as “the longest day I ever experienced” (155). As a whole, the letters are chocked full of soldier life subjects, covering things like food and shelter, as well as army and national politics. Enthusiasts interested in the common soldiers will find them extremely informative.

In addition to the book’s thorough notes and bibliography sections, several pages near the middle of the book include 25 images showing an example of Mason’s writing, photographs of him and of Harriet, and also of some of his comrades. Other illustrations show places where Mason served during the war and social and political issues related to the war and Reconstruction.

If I Can Get Home This Fall is a wonderful addition to the ever-growing corpus of published soldiers’ letters collections. Well-researched and excellently edited, it is sure to become one of the “go to” sources for scholars examining common soldiers’ experiences.