First Combat: Accounts of Fear and Exhilaration That Grips a Soldier’s Heart Though they grew up with guns in peacetime and had basic training after joining the Union and Confederate armies, no one could fully prepare citizen soldiers for hostile fire and first combat. Here are three accounts that capture the intense mix of fear and exhilaration that grips a soldier’s heart. "Life on the Civil War Research Trail" is hosted by Ronald S. Coddington, Editor and Publisher of Military Images magazine