Letters from the Front

About the Book

Letters From the Front:  Three Years in the Civil War is the true story of Sergeant Chester W. Shaw, a soldier in the Union Army’s 101st Illinois Infantry Volunteers.  For three years, Chester Wesley Shaw fought the Confederate forces, beginning his adventure at Jacksonville, Illinois where he was enrolled in the service.  He was captured by the rebels at Holly Springs, Georgia in 1862.  Paroled in 1863, he fought at the Battle of Chattanooga.  In 1864, Shaw was involved in a series of skirmishes at Bridgeport, Alabama.  He then proceeded south with General Sherman to participate in the great Battle for Atlanta.  As they approached the city, Shaw wrote:

“But our men are still throwing shells into the city every five minutes from a large 64-pounder that is planted on a hill near our camp.  We can hear them burst in the city very plain.  We can see the city very plain from where our Brigade lays, but as a general thing, it is mostly all timber around, outside the city.  And it is generally hilly also.  We lay within one mile and a half of the city and the rebels have got two strong lines of breast works between us and there.  And I think there would be a poor chance of trying to take them by assault.  And I think that it ain’t Sherman’s plan to try and do that way.  His object is now to get the Atlanta and Macon R.R. cut so that they can’t get supplies to their army.  And when we succeed in that and get possession of that, then they will obliged to fall back and give up the great city that we have been trying so long to get possession of.  Our men did cut it in one place.  And then the rebels went to work and made a track out around the place that was cut.  But they will not hold it long, for we are getting nearer & nearer to it every day.”                                                                                                            Ironically, Shaw’s 101st Illinois Infantry Volunteers were in charge of the fire department when the city accidentally caught fire and burned.  

Shaw continued his service under Sherman as the general resumed his famous March to the Sea.  The regiment entered Savannah, Georgia in December of 1864.  They began the Carolinas Campaign that January and reached Goldsboro, North Carolina March 24th.  Since leaving Bridgeport, Alabama, they had traveled 1,100 miles through the dead of winter in just ten months!

About the Author

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1958, Michael David Raya rode the famous Santa Fe Super Chief east to Peoria, Illinois with his great grandfather at the ripe old age of four weeks.  There, he was raised by his grandparents who themselves had grown up in the busy, Illinois River port during the early 20th century—a time when riverboats still ran up and down the waterway and commercial fishing was in its heyday.  

A love for the great outdoors was instilled in Michael early on as his grandfather taught him to fish the Illinois River and area lakes.  The fishing trips became more frequent during Michael’s four-years at Peoria High School, especially after he purchased his first automobile, a 1965 Dodge Dart.

After high school, Michael attended Illinois Central College in East Peoria, Illinois.  During this period, he began freelance writing for various environmental organizations.  Although his major was business management, he spent his free time soaking up the information contained in the school library’s wildlife biology section.  He spent his summers canoeing Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area and hiking the trails of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

In late 1984, Michael began a career in powerlifting.  Now, in his 17th year, he has won 65 awards including the titles of 1989-90-91 Illinois State Deadlifting Champion, 1991-92 U.S.P.F. Illinois State Powerlifting Champion, and 1992 N.A.S.A. National Deadlifting Champion.  He has authored Effective Weight Training for the New Millennium and The Modern-day Karate Reference Manual.

Between 1991 and 1995, Michael owned and operated Raya’s Power & Fitness Center and Raya’s Marketing, both in Pekin, Illinois, along with The Hair Affair & Tan-X in Lacon, Illinois.  At Raya’s Marketing, he was able to continue his work as a freelance writer/graphic designer, creating multi-media marketing campaigns for a wide variety of industries and non-profit organizations.

In mid-1995, Michael opted to work in marketing exclusively.  As a freelance writer, he wrote business profiles for weekly newspapers in small towns across central Illinois.  He also wrote feature stories for Adventure Sports Outdoors, a monthly hunting and fishing magazine distributed throughout the state.  Eventually, he was asked to serve as the magazine’s editor and graphic designer.  During this time, he also wrote Letters From the Front:  Three Years in the Civil War, a look at the great War Between the States through the letters of his great, great, great, great uncle, 1st Sergeant Chester W. Shaw of the 101st Illinois Infantry Volunteers.

During his association with Adventure Sports Outdoors, Michael met many of the people featured in his book Life & Lore Along Illinois Waterways.  His writing style for Life & Lore Along Illinois Waterways was based upon the participatory journalism of George Plimpton—the one writer Michael admires most.  He echoes Senator Robert F. Kennedy’s remark:  “Some men want to be President, but I’d rather be George Plimpton.”