The Citizen Soldier

John Beatty was a brigadier general during the American Civil War, who served the Union Army in the Western theatre of war. When the war broke out Beatty volunteered as a private soldier in an Ohio regiment. He was quickly recognized for his distinguished service and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1863.

Beatty saw action in Western Virginia, the Battle of Perryville, Stones River (Second Murfreesboro), Tullahoma Campaign, Chattanooga, and Chickamauga. In January 1864 Beatty resigned his commission and returned to his profession in banking. The Citizen Soldier is written as a sort of journal of Beatty's experiences in the Union Army. The chapters each represent a month starting in June 1861, and finishing in January 1864.

After the war Beatty was elected to represent Ohio in the U.S. Congress as a Republican, he was a member of the electoral college for Ohio that had cast its vote for Abraham Lincoln in 1860.