Ranald Slidell Mackenzie
J'Nell L. Pate
Traces the life and military career of the 1862 West Point graduate who spent much of his life as a cavalry officer fighting the Indians in Texas.
Read Time: ~5 hr
The boy general
by Richard F. Welch (2003)
About this book
"This is the first full-length account of one of the most aggressive, dynamic, and successful combat leaders produced by either side in the Civil War. Based heavily on primary source material, the work chronicles the transformation of the self-assured son of a broken Bosten Brahmin family from a young, militarily inexperienced lawyer into a formidable warrior.". "Born into the Unitarian-Transcendentalist circle, which dominated New England intellectual and cultural life before the Civil War, Barlow attended the school run by the famous Brook Farm commune. From an early age he was noted for fearlessness in both speech and action - two characteristics that marked his conduct and affected his later careers. Barlow's unquestioning sense of his own intellectual and moral superiority was the source of his success as a combat officer during the war. He trained and drove his men hard, and they became one of the army's elite units in the process. Barlow's steadfast belief in himself led him to command from the front, winning respect of his troops, recognition from his superiors, public acclaim, and, often, success for his cause. Possessing innate self-confidence and almost heedless bravery in equal measure, Barlow rose from private to major general. He was heavily engaged in almost all the major battles of the Army of the Potomac beginning as a regimental colonel on the Peninsula in 1862 and finishing his career as commander of the first division in the vaunted II Corps during Grant's campaigns against Richmond in 1864. Throughout his military career, Barlow carved out a record as a fighting man that few could match and none could excel.". "Twice wounded, first at Antietam and then Gettysburg, Barlow consistently took his men into the hottest spots in most pivotal actions during Grant's bloody campaign against Lee.". "After the war, Barlow alternated a legal career with service in New York State government. As New York's attorney general he initiated suits against the Tweed Ring and other corrupt malefactors. Barlow's unfiltered forthrightness and unyielding ethics placed him at a disadvantage in the rough-and-tumble democratic politics of the late nineteenth century. His candid report exposing corruption involved in the successful Republican campaign to win the White House for Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 cost him whatever hopes he had for a further political career. Barlow returned to private life, pursued a successful legal career, and died relatively unknown in 1896."--BOOK JACKET.
Setting / LocationLondon & UK
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreThe boy general Lead Character
Readers who enjoyed this also loved
The notorious Benedict Arnold
Steve Sheinkin
An introduction to the life of Benedict Arnold that highlights not only the traitorous actions that made him legendary, but also his heroic involvement in the American Revolution.
Hot time in the old town
Edward P. Kohn
The 1896 New York heat wave that killed almost 1,500 people in ten oppressively hot days coincided with a pitched presidential contest between William McKinley and the upstart Democrat William Jennings Bryan, who arrived in New York City at the height of the catastrophe. As historian Edward P. Kohn shows, Bryan's hopes for the presidency began to flag amidst the abhorrent heat just as a bright young police commissioner named Theodore Roosevelt was scrambling to mitigate the dangerously high temperatures.
A complete life of general George A. Custer
Frederick Whittaker
With no marked advantages of education or wealth to command his situation, Custer yet passed through a career so brilliant that his deeds are household words, his "Last Stand" against Sioux and Cheyenne warriors at Little Big Horn an enduring legend in American history. Truth and sincerity, honor and bravery, tenderness and sympathy, unassuming piety and temperance were the mainspring of Major General Custer, the man. Note: DSI, the publisher of this e-book, is granting readers the right to print excerpts of this book as well as the right to lend/give this e-book to other Glassbook Plus Reader users. Printing: Users can print up to 100 e-book pages every seven days. Students and researchers will find this feature especially useful. To print, click on the menu button in the Glassbook Reader and select the print option. Lending/Giving: We currently have two ways to lend or give a book: you can beam it to a computer if both have infrared ports, or you can send it to a computer on your network. To lend a book to someone else, go to the Library, click a book. Click the Menu button and then click Lend/Give to display the Lend/Give dialog box. Choose a loan period or click Give. To send the book over an infrared connection, click Beam. To send the book to a computer on the network, enter the computer name in the Send To box and click Send. You can either lend the book or give it away. Like a paper book, there is only ever one working copy. Once the lending period expires, you get your rights back and you can re-read the book or lend it again. Of course, if you give it away, it's gone for good (unless the recipient gives it back).