Located in Bryan, Ohio, Faded Banner Publications was founded in 1997. Our main thrust involves books based on journals and letters written by common soldiers in uncommon situations. Faded Banner's volumes let the Civil War soldiers tell their stories in their own words ^_ and enhance these first-person accounts with maps, illustrations, period photographs, and expert narration based on solid research.

Faded Banner's initial offering, Hell on Belle Isle: Diary of a Civil War POW, was released in September 1997 and remains our bestseller today. This book is based on the journal kept by Sgt. Jacob Osborn Coburn of the 6th Michigan Cavalry, a unit in the famed Michigan Cavalry Brigade of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, while Coburn was a prisoner of war in Richmond. Much of Coburn's time as a captive was spent in the Belle Isle prison camp. Although not so well known, Belle Isle rivaled the infamous Andersonville prison in Georgia in terms of the squalid conditions of neglect and starvation endured by its prisoners.

In keeping with Faded Banner's thrust, Hell on Belle Isle features editing and narration by award-winning journalist Don Allison, supplemented by letters Coburn wrote before his capture detailing life in the 6th Michigan Cavalry.

Another popular publication is our edition of How Private Peck Put Down the Rebellion. This book allows a new generation of readers to experience a nearly forgotten American humorist and his look at service in the Civil War. For decades, George W. Peck has been a forgotten man among American writers. A best-seller for years following its introduction in 1885, How Private Peck Put Down the Rebellion has long been relegated to the dusty shelves of libraries and antiquarian bookstores. Until now, anyone wishing a copy of the book was usually destined to a search through used bookstores, or a hunt on the Internet.