Civil War letters turned into book By Kate Peabody -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Gainesville man has published a book of letters that his great-grandfather wrote home during the Civil War. Nat Turner is the editor of "A Southern Soldier's Letters Home -- the Civil War Letters of Samuel Burney, Army of Northern Virginia." Burney graduated from Mercer University in 1860, then served in the Army of Northern Virginia both in Virginia and Tennessee for four years. He was wounded at Chancellorsville in May 1863. After the war, Burney returned to Mercer's theology school and was ordained into the Baptist ministry. He served several churches in Morgan County and was pastor of Madison Baptist Church until shortly before his death in 1896. His letters were written to his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Shepherd, and described battles, camp life, theology and the day-to-day dreariness of life in the army. Turner is a native of Covington and a graduate of Georgia Tech. He was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy and retired as a textile engineer from Milliken Inc. The book is published by Mercer University Press in Macon. Desoto Joe/The Record Man