Cavalry units from Midwestern states remain largely absent from Civil War literature, and what little has been written largely overlooks the individual men who served. The Fifth Illinois Cavalry has thus remained obscure despite participating in some of the most important campaigns in Arkansas and Mississippi. In this pioneering examination of that understudied regiment, Rhonda M. Kohl offers the only modern, comprehensive analysis of a southern Illinois regiment during the Civil War and combines well-documented military history with a cultural analysis of the men who served in the Fifth Illinois. The regiment’s history unfolds around major events in the Western Theater from 1861 to September 1865, including campaigns at Helena, Vicksburg, Jackson, and Meridian, as well as numerous little-known skirmishes. Although they were led almost exclusively by Northern-born Republicans, the majority of the soldiers in the Fifth Illinois remained Democrats. As Kohl demonstrates, politics, economics, education, social values, and racism separated the line officers from the common soldiers, and the internal friction caused by these cultural disparities led to poor leadership, low morale, disciplinary problems, and rampant alcoholism.   The narrative pulls the Fifth Illinois out of historical oblivion, elucidating the highs and lows of the soldiers’ service as well as their changing attitudes toward war goals, religion, liberty, commanding generals, Copperheads, and alcoholism.   By reconstructing the cultural context of Fifth Illinois soldiers, Prairie Boys Go to War reveals how social and economic traditions can shape the wartime experience. “[This book] serves as a guide for how regimental histories should be written. . . . Readers of Rhonda M. Kohl’s work will gain a real understanding of the men that served in the Fifth, in addition to obtaining a greater analysis of Federal soldiers overall.”— Carl Creason, H-Net Online   “As a military history illuminating the contributions of one regiment to a much larger war effort, Kohl’s narrative is admirably successful. . . . Kohl’s boots-on-the-ground perspective is an exceptional window into their war.”— Jason Miller , Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society   “[Readers] will find significant value in Kohl’s argument and the rich stories she tells about the soldiers’ military achievements and their encounters with African Americans, southern women, and Copperheads. . . . The author’s cultural analysis is a refreshing departure from standard regimental histories and an interesting book that is well researched and well written.”— Melissa Farah Young , Southern Historian “ The Prairie Boys  Go   to War  lives up to its title. . . . Kohl provides some fascinating statistics on the lives of this fractious group of individuals who were held together, at times it seemed, only by their uniform and the shared hardships of a soldier’s life.”— L. Bao Bui, Middle West Review “[This book] tells a rich and complex story of volunteer military service and provides a detailed look at the underexamined experience of Union cavalry in the western theater. This is a well-researched and accessible book that should appeal to those interested in military matters as well as the social history of the volunteer military experience.”— Thomas Bahde , Journal of Southern History “ The Prairie Boys Go to War does in excellent fashion what so many Civil War regimental histories continue to do poorly. . . . We really have something of award worthy mention in Rhonda Kohl’s study.”— Andrew Wagonoffer , Civil War Book Review “Looking at the common man, the common soldier, and their interactions with the union army, The Prairie Boys Go to War does well in analyzing the people of Illinois and their contributions to the Civil War. Highly recommended.”— James A. Cox , Midwest Book Review “This book is well documented and well written. It should be in the library of every serious student of the Union cavalry in the Civil War.”— Samuel Blackwell , Journal of Illinois History “With a firmness of purpose worthy of that demonstrated by the Prairie Boys, Rhonda Kohl has chronicled the service and actions of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry with an intimacy seldom woven into modern-day regimental histories. With passion and skill cultivated through ten years of diligent research, she examines the complex relationships among the officers and men—individuals who were of disparate cultural and social backgrounds, and traces the development of their cohesiveness as a unit and captures its identity. In the process she has also produced a good history of the war in the lower Mississippi River valley. So mount up for an exciting ride.”— Terrence J. Winschel , author of Triumph and Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign “ The Prairie Boys Go to War  presents the reader with a compelling combination of the military history of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry regiment in the Civil War with the