[2] Originally published as a serial newspaper column from 1881 to 1882 in The Columbia Herald, his stories were collected and printed in book form in 1882.

[1][3][4] The charming prose captures the experience of the common private soldier, from the hardships of camp life to the horrors of battle, the camaraderie of a unit to the loss of a brother, the pride in one's state to the devastation of defeat.

The song "Kennesaw Line" by Don Oja-Dunaway tells a heart-breaking vignette of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on the morning of June 27, 1864, from the perspective of Sam Watkins, with part of the lyrics directly paraphrasing his description from the book "Company Aytch" (see the section entitled "Dead Angle").

[6] Notes Well the sun rose high above us that morning On a clear and cloudless day A peckerwood, he tapped on a tree That would soon be shot away The heat blistered down through the leaves on the trees The air seemed hot enough to catch fire Heaven seemed to be made of brass The sun rose higher and higher "Kennesaw Line".

The best-known version of this song is sung by Claire Lynch on the album Lines & Traces by the Front Porch String Band.