Cutrer (American studies, Arizona State U. West) presents the letters penned by Confederate military chaplain Bunting to newspapers during the Civil War. Unlike many collections of Civil War correspondence, the material in this volume was written with a specific polemical purpose, primarily to use religion to influence civilian publics in support of the goals of the South, although he also included quite a bit of description of military developments at Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and other areas where the Eighth Texas Cavalry fought. It thus provides a greater glimpse into the construction of the "official" religious ideology of the Confederacy than can be found in other collections of Civil War letters. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)