This is their story ...in their words.

Path of Blood:
The True Story of the 33d New York Volunteers

by George W. Contant

Path of Blood is the true story of the two-year service of the 33d New York Infantry, from the gathering of their companies in the Spring of 1861 to their lonely return in May of 1863.  Written for the casual reader as well as the hard-core buff and historian, it is the story of over 1,400 of western New York's men and families who gave their all to the cause they believed in ...in their words.

Men from Alleghany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, Genesee

Livingston, Niagara, Seneca, Steuben, Wayne, Wyoming, & Yates Counties

• The desperate lone charge of Companies A, D and F that snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at the Battle of Williamsburg, Virginia, launching Brigadier General Winfield Scott Hancock into national prominence --and almost the Presidency.

• How 80 men saved the retreating Army of the Potomac from being taken in the rear.

• Standing against Stonewall Jackson at White Oak Swamp, Virginia --when others ran.

• Antietam’s bloody Dunker Church, where a 19-year old Irish orphan and a Seneca Falls doctor won the Medal of Honor.

• Leading an assault up the slopes of Fredericksburg, the "Gibraltar of America".

• Defending the rear against overwhelming numbers while an entire Army Corps escapes across the Rappahannock River.

Civil War history written for both the casual reader and historian.

• Extensive excerpts from over 300 of the men’s letters, diaries and manuscripts --their story, in their words.   

• Over 430 pages containing over 120 photos, original art by 33d Lieutenant Lucis C. Mix, and maps showing the 33d’s position on the field

• An appendix containing company rosters with military biographical data on the officers and men

• A special chapter on the 33d’s Medal of Honor winners, John Carter and James Curran

• ISBN #0-9659177-0-3

Click HERE for a review by former National Park Service historian Theodore Mahr

Click HERE for excerpts from the book.

You can purchase a signed copy from the author for just

$19.95

plus shipping

To order click FORM.

Path of Blood can also be purchased from the following booksellers:

Alling Coverlet Museum (Historic Palmyra), Palmyra, NY ● Amazon.com ● Barnes and Noble.com ● Barnes & Noble, Pittsford & Greece, NY

Book Den, Dansville, NY ● Book Nook, Dunkirk, NY ● Borders, Rochester, NY ● Borders.com ●  Butternut & Blue, Baltimore, MD

Byrne's Pharmacy, Nunda, NY ● Canandaigua Books, Canandaigua, NY ● Class Gifts & Antiques, Dover, DE

College Bookstore, Hobart & William Smith College, Geneva, NY ● Erie County and Buffalo Museum, Buffalo, NY ● Geneva Historical Society, Geneva, NY

J. W. Carson Books, LeRoy, NY ● Long's Cards & Books, Penn Yan, NY ● Lift Bridge Book Shop • Morningside Bookshop ● Olde Soldier Books, Gaithersburg, MD

Ontario County Historical Society Museum, Canandaigua, NY ● Penn Yan Historical Society, Penn Yan, NY ● The River's End Bookstore, Oswego, NY

Sundance Books, Geneseo, NY  ● Wayne County Historical Society, Lyons, NY

Booksellers interested in carrying
this book should contact

George W. Contant

or 302.674.0727

For more information, e-mail the author: 33dny@comcast,net

Back to Western NY in the Civil War

Copyright 2009, George W. Contant. All rights reserved.