Name: Elise Lauren Bush
From: Henderson, NV
Votes: 0
Wilson 3
Tofa Wilson
Dr. Foster
History 101
November 30, 2018
Company Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show is the story of
the common soldier in the Civil War. The perspective being told is
that of Samuel Rush Watkins, a soldier of the Confederate cause. His
insight shows the audience a more personal side to the Civil War than
most textbooks. Company Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show is
a primary source that shows raw emotion of the war, but is a source
that has details missing.
The story begins with Samuel Rush Watkins joining the southern cause
in the Civil War. He becomes a part of the Tennessee Regiment and
receives the ranking of a private in the Rebel army (5). Sam
Watkin’s regiment leaves Nashville, but are informed that the
Yankees are in the proximity (9-11). They keep marching forward,
until they arrived at Mingo Flats (14). In Mingo Flats, Sam Watkins’s
regiment comes across a Yankee ambuscade, and with hesitation, Sam
Watkins’s regiment charged and fired at the Yankees (14). The first
big battle that Sam Watkins and his regiment had partaken in was the
Cheat Mountain (25). This battle gave Sam Watkin a realization of the
fear within the war. He stated that men were so scared to fight that
some of them would self inflict minor injuries to them, such as
shooting their own finger off (25). Fear of death becomes a
reoccuring theme in Company Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show.
Soldiers in the Civil War start questioning if this war is worth
dying for. On page 125, Sam Watkins questions whether or not to begin
writing his will. Sam Watkins would later capture the Yankee
battle-flag, but would end up getting wounded from the encounterment.
The Civil War would end and Sam Watkins would come to a new America.
Company Aytch Or
A Side Show of the Big Show is a valuable primary source since it
is written by a Confederate soldier. The emotion displayed in Company
Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show described by Sam Watkins can
not be captured in any textbook. For example, when Sam Watkins and
his platoon first rushed the Yankees, he had a sense of confusion and
hesitation (14). This state of confusion would soon transform into a
state of fear. Sam Watkins remembered that in his first big battle,
Cheat Mountain, that a man named Smith had so much fear that he shot
own his finger off (25). Fear of death started to consume the other
soldiers as the war went on. One soldier is stated saying, “Just
look at that brave man, charging, right in the jaws of death.”
(29). This display of emotion is usually left out of textbooks. The
value of Company Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show decreases
due to Sam Watkins’s human flaw.
Sam Watkins’s
biggest flaw in Company Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show is
his memory. At the start of the book, Sam Watkins’s bad memory is
apparent. Sam Watkins describes a group of followers and states that
he does not know for sure the name of a certain man (1). He describes
another man named Toombs and states that he remembered that one
because it sounded like a graveyard (1). The way Sam says he
remembers the name creates doubt that he remembered. Then at the end
of the first page, Sam Watkins states that he thinks that he
remembers something. It does not help that Sam Watkins wrote Company
Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show 20 years after the war.
Historian, Bell Irvin Wiley, states that since Sam Watkin wrote the
book off of memory, and that Sam Watkins had made some errors. Sam
Watkin’s memory, or lack thereof, caused the credibility of Company
Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show to be questioned.
Company Aytch Or
A Side Show of the Big Show gives a great insight to the life of
a common soldier. It was a primary source that captured the raw
emotion of the Civil War, but lacked of a crisp recollection. Company
Aytch Or A Side Show of the Big Show will always give an in depth
perspective of the Civil War.
