 A memoir of his military experiences, highly critical of how the war was conducted by corrupt politicians and incompetent officers, was published in 1887 under the title "Recollections of a Private Soldier in the Army of the Potomac, 1864–1865".Wilkeson's book included a startling chapter entitled "How Men Die in Battle" that graphically described the various ways men were killed in combat during the Civil War particularly noting their facial expressions.Highly regarded by historians for its no-holds-barred style, the book was reprinted in 1997 as "Turned Inside Out