General A.P. Hill

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Richard M. McMurry

This book focuses on John Bell Hood, a native of Kentucky bred on romantic notions of the Old South and determined to model himself on Robert E. Lee. Hood had a tragic military career, no less interesting for being calamitous. After conspicuous bravery in leading a Texas brigade, he rose in the ranks to become the youngest of the full generals of the Confederacy. The misfortune in store for Hood, a far better fighter than a strategist, illustrates the strain and risks of high command. One of the lasting images to come out of the Civil War is that of the one-legged General Hood strapped in his saddle, leading his men in a hopeless counter-offensive against Sherman's march on Atlanta.

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Roy Blount, Jr

Iconic Virginian, brilliant general, and complex human being---that last aspect of Robert E. Lee has daunted biographers and been disregarded by partisans. Now Roy Blount Jr. combines acute character insight with lively storytelling and full-hearted Southern directness to craft this unique portrait. Fascinated by what made Lee such a charismatic, though reluctant, leader, Blount delves into the influences of Lee's illustrious but scandal-clouded ancestry, his hero-turned-scapegrace father, and his beloved, beautiful, husband-forsaken mother. In 1861 Lee was Lincoln's first choice to lead the Union troops, but his Virginia roots drew him, instead, to Confederate command. Blount vividly conveys Lee's audacity and uncanny successes in battle, and also his humility, his quirky humor (certain jokes in particular), his faults as a communicator, and his sorrowful sense of responsibility for his outnumbered, half-starved army. Robert E. Lee, the first brief biography of this American legend, will appeal to history and military buffs, students of Southern culture, and every reader curious about the makeup of a man born to be a myth.

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Jeff Kinard

"The Confederate career of Prince Camille de Polignac - French aristocrat, professional military man, and soldier of fortune - has gone largely unnoticed because most of his service occurred in the relatively neglected western theater of the American Civil War.". "In Lafayette of the South, Jeff Kinard reveals the distinguished but underappreciated life and career of Prince Camille de Polignac. Kinard follows Polignac through his early days, his dramatic years during the Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War, and the rest of his long, eventful life. Polignac died in 1913, holding the peculiar distinction of being the last Confederate major general and the only foreign national on either side to earn that rank."--BOOK JACKET.

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Carl R. Green and William R. Sanford

Profiles the lives and military careers of Nathan B. Forrest, William J. Hardee, Ambrose P. Hill, John B. Hood, Stonewall Jackson, Joseph E. Johnston, Robert E. Lee, James Longstreet, George Pickett, and Jeb Stuart.