Howard Coffin is a sixth generation Vermonter and the great-grandson of two men who served in Vermont regiments in the Civil War. Long interested in the Civil War and an advocate of the protection and proper interpretation of Civil War sites, Howard Coffin is an active member of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites and a U.S. Senate appointee to the National Civil War Sites Advisory Commission.

Howard Coffin is currently press secretary for United States Senator James Jeffords. Prior to assuming this position, he was a reporter for the Rutland Heard and a correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor. He served in public information positions at Dartmouth College and the University of Vermont. In addition to writing about the Civil War, Howard Coffin often conducts tours to Civil War sites.

Full Duty - Vermonters in the Civil War "written with the immediacy of a combat correspondent, dramatizes why and how a small, poor, remote Northern state responded so quickly and enthusiastically to President Lincoln's first call to arms in 1861."

In Full Duty "we observe the bravery and exploits of Vermont's farm-bred troops who turned the tide in pivotal battles to preserve the Union" from "the defense of Washington and the siege of Richmond, from Big Bethel to Cedar Creek."

Full Duty is a book that will be enjoyed by anyone interested in Civil War history or in the history or character of Vermonters.

Based on newspaper accounts, journals, letters home, and books written by the soldiers, Howard Coffin retells "the story of ordinary men who confronted fire with extraordinary bravery, hardship with remarkable wit, and fear with surprising honesty."

Anyone interested in the Civil War, and particularly those interested in Vermont's involvement, will throughly enjoy this well-written book packed with maps, photographs, and illustrations.