His active interest in the Civil War began when his grandfather’s diaries came into his hands. His grandfather, William Brokaw, joined the 96th New York Regiment at the age of sixteen, served first as a drummer boy, fought in sixteen engagements and was a Brevet Major when he was mustered out in 1865. Mr. Burchard lives with his wife and three children in a converted barn in Rockland County, N. Y. The war experiences of his wife’s grandfather provided the basis for _North by Night_. TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. Archaic or variant spelling has been retained. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.