Death of a Confederate Colonel

Download Death of a Confederate Colonel PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Arkansas Press
ISBN 13 : 9781610751216
Total Pages : 182 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (512 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Death of a Confederate Colonel by : Pat Carr

Download or read book Death of a Confederate Colonel written by Pat Carr and published by University of Arkansas Press. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dramatically compelling and historically informed, The Death of a Confederate Colonel takes us into the lives of those left behind during the Civil War. These stories, all with Arkansas settings, are filled with the trauma of the time. They tell of a Confederate woman’s care of and growing affection for a wounded Union soldier, a plantation mistress’s singular love for a sick slave child, and an eight-year-old girl’s fight for survival against frigid cold, injury, starvation, heartbreak, and lawlessness. Here are women holding down the home front with heroism and loyalty, or, sometimes, with weakness and duplicity. Will a young belle remain loyal to her wounded fiance? How long can a caring nurse hold her finger on a severed artery? And how does anyone comprehend the legacy of slavery and the brutality of war? The Death of a Confederate Colonel triumphs in its portrayal of desperate circumstances coated in the patina of the Civil War era, the complexity of ordinary people confronting situations that change them forever.

Confederate Colonels

Download Confederate Colonels PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Missouri Press
ISBN 13 : 0826266487
Total Pages : 450 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (262 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Confederate Colonels by : Bruce S. Allardice

Download or read book Confederate Colonels written by Bruce S. Allardice and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 450 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Allardice provides detailed biographical information on 1,583 Confederate colonels, both staff and line officers and members of all armies. In his introduction, he explains how one became a colonel -- the mustering process, election of officers, reorganizing of regiments -- and discusses problems of the nominating process, seniority, and "rank inflation""--Provided by publisher.

Where Death and Glory Meet

Download Where Death and Glory Meet PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Georgia Press
ISBN 13 : 0820321362
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (23 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Where Death and Glory Meet by : Russell Duncan

Download or read book Where Death and Glory Meet written by Russell Duncan and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On July 18, 1863, the African American soldiers of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Infantry led a courageous but ill-fated charge on Fort Wagner, a key bastion guarding Charleston harbor. Confederate defenders killed, wounded, or made prisoners of half the regiment. Only hours later, the body of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, the regiment's white commander, was thrown into a mass grave with those of twenty of his men. The assault promoted the young colonel to the higher rank of martyr, ranking him alongside the legendary John Brown in the eyes of abolitionists. In this biography of Shaw, Russell Duncan presents a poignant portrait of an average young soldier, just past the cusp of manhood and still struggling against his mother's indomitable will, thrust unexpectedly into the national limelight. Using information gleaned from Shaw's letters home before and during the war, Duncan tells the story of the rebellious son of wealthy Boston abolitionists who never fully reconciled his own racial prejudices yet went on to head the North's vanguard black regiment and give his life to the cause of freedom. This thorough biography looks at Shaw from historical and psychological viewpoints and examines the complex family relationships that so strongly influenced him.

Confederate General William "Extra Billy" Smith

Download Confederate General William

Author :
Publisher : Grub Street Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1611211301
Total Pages : 599 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (112 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Confederate General William "Extra Billy" Smith by : Scott L. Mingus

Download or read book Confederate General William "Extra Billy" Smith written by Scott L. Mingus and published by Grub Street Publishers. This book was released on 2013-04-19 with total page 599 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An award-winning biography of one of the Confederacy’s most colorful and controversial generals. Winner of the 2013 Nathan Bedford Forrest History Book Award for Southern History Nominated for the 2014 Virginia Book Award for Nonfiction Despite a life full of drama, politics, and adventure, little has been written about William “Extra Billy” Smith—aside from a rather biased account by his brother-in-law back in the nineteenth century. As the oldest and one of the most controversial Confederate generals on the field at Gettysburg, Smith was also one of the most charismatic characters of the Civil War and the antebellum Old South. Known nationally as “Extra Billy” because of his prewar penchant for finding loopholes in government postal contracts to gain extra money for his stagecoach lines, Smith served as Virginia’s governor during both the war with Mexico and the Civil War; served five terms in the US Congress; and was one of Virginia’s leading spokesmen for slavery and states’ rights. Extra Billy’s extra-long speeches and wry sense of humor were legendary among his peers. A lawyer during the heady Gold Rush days, he made a fortune in California—and, as with his income earned from stagecoaches, quickly lost it. Despite his advanced age, Smith took to the field and fought well at First Manassas, was wounded at Seven Pines and again at Sharpsburg, and marched with Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania. There, on the first day at Gettysburg, Smith’s frantic messages about a possible Union flanking attack remain a matter of controversy to this day. Did his aging eyes see distant fence-lines that he interpreted as approaching enemy soldiers—mere phantoms of his imagination? Or did his prompt action stave off a looming Confederate disaster? This biography draws upon a wide array of newspapers, diaries, letters, and other firsthand accounts to paint a portrait of one of the South’s most interesting leaders, complete with original maps and photos.

The Notorious "Bull" Nelson

Download The Notorious

Author :
Publisher : SIU Press
ISBN 13 : 0809386038
Total Pages : 276 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (93 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Notorious "Bull" Nelson by : Donald A. Clark

Download or read book The Notorious "Bull" Nelson written by Donald A. Clark and published by SIU Press. This book was released on 2011-02-01 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A dynamic figure in the pages of history, Major General William “Bull” Nelson played a formative role in the Union’s success in Kentucky and the Western theater of the Civil War. Now, Donald A. Clark presents a long-overdue examination of this irascible officer, his numerous accomplishments, and his grim fate. More popularly known for his temper than his intrepid endeavors on behalf of the North, Nelson nevertheless dedicated much of his life to his nation and the preservation of the Union. The child of a privileged family, Nelson was one of the first officers to graduate from the newly formed U.S. Naval Academy. His years in the Navy imbued in him the qualities of bravery, loyalty, and fortitude; however, his term of service also seemed to breed an intolerance of others for which he became infamous, and that ultimately led to his violent downfall. Clark sheds new light upon Nelson’s pre–Civil War years as a naval officer, when he became a hardened veteran of battle, fighting at the siege of Veracruz and the capture of Tabasco during the Mexican War in the 1840s. On the basis of Nelson’s military experience, in 1861 President Lincoln sent him to Kentucky—which was considering secession—and Nelson rallied loyalists and helped the Union prepare to maintain control of the state during the next several years of war. Nelson went on to prove instrumental in blocking Confederate attempts to subdue Kentucky and the West, serving important roles in the battle of Shiloh, General Henry W. Halleck’s advance against Corinth, and Brigadier General Don Carlos Buell’s movement toward Chattanooga. But while some viewed his bold maneuvers as the saving of the state, many others, including such notables as Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, argued that Nelson’s actions merited no praise. Unfortunately for the general, the question of his value to the Union abruptly became moot, as his achievements were shortly overshadowed by ignominious rumors of scandal and abuse. His involvement in the defense of Louisville gave Nelson a chance to redeem himself and restore his military reputation, but the general’s famous temper soon robbed him of any potential glory. During September of 1862, in a crime that was never prosecuted, fellow Union general Jefferson C. Davis shot and killed Nelson after an argument. Clark explores this remarkable exception in military law, arguing that while the fact of the murder was indisputable, many considered Davis a hero for having dispatched the so-called tyrant. Although Nelson eventually received many posthumous honors for his indispensable role in the war, justice was never sought for his murder. A comprehensive study of this well-known, yet misunderstood American figure, The Notorious “Bull” Nelson: Murdered Civil War General is an illuminating addition to the history of the Civil War. Through Clark’s impeccable research and richly layered narrative, William “Bull” Nelson springs from the pages as large and volatile as he was in life.

The Great Partnership

Download The Great Partnership PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1643131737
Total Pages : 470 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (431 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Great Partnership by : Christian B Keller

Download or read book The Great Partnership written by Christian B Keller and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-07-02 with total page 470 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why were Generals Lee and Jackson so successful in their partner- ship in trying to win the war for the South? What was it about their styles, friendship, even their faith, that cemented them together into a fighting machine that consistently won despite often overwhelming odds against them?The Great Partnership has the power to change how we think about Confederate strategic decision-making and the value of personal relationships among senior leaders responsible for organizational survival. Those relationships in the Confederate high command were particularly critical for victory, especially the one that existed between the two great Army of Northern Virginia generals.It has been over two decades since any author attempted a joint study of the two generals. At the very least, the book will inspire a very lively debate among the thousands of students of Civil War his- tory. At best, it will significantly revise how we evaluate Confederate strategy during the height the war and our understanding of why, in the end, the South lost.

General A.P. Hill

Download General A.P. Hill PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Vintage
ISBN 13 : 0679738886
Total Pages : 415 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (797 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis General A.P. Hill by : James I. Robertson, Jr.

Download or read book General A.P. Hill written by James I. Robertson, Jr. and published by Vintage. This book was released on 1992-07-28 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Confederate general who ranks with Lee, Jeb Stuart, and Stonewall Jackson but whose achievements have been unfairly neglected until now, finally receives his due in this invaluable biography by a noted historian of the Civil War. Drawing extensively on newly unearthed documents, this work provides a gripping battle-by-battle assessment of Hill's role in Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, and other battles. 8 pages of photographs.

The Long Lost Journal of Confederate General James Johnston Pettigrew

Download The Long Lost Journal of Confederate General James Johnston Pettigrew PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : iUniverse
ISBN 13 : 059512416X
Total Pages : 682 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (951 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Long Lost Journal of Confederate General James Johnston Pettigrew by : Dan Bauer

Download or read book The Long Lost Journal of Confederate General James Johnston Pettigrew written by Dan Bauer and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2000-12 with total page 682 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the first to answer the South's call to arms was James Johnston Pettigrew. He served in the Southern army from the opening guns at Fort Sumter until his tragic death during the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg. Using newspapers, letters, diaries, and other accounts of the time, Dan Bauer tells General Pettigrew's remarkable story in journal form. Pettigrew's fictionalized journal offers a first-hand, day-by-day account of the Civil War. Here are the experiences of planters, common soldiers, slaves, women and officers of the Confederate South. What kind of men did it take to lead Southern troops into the bloody battles of the Civil War? Were they daredevils risking all for glory, or patriots striving to build a new nation? The story is contained within these pages...

Fighting for the Confederacy

Download Fighting for the Confederacy PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN 13 : 0807882348
Total Pages : 693 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (78 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Fighting for the Confederacy by : Gary W. Gallagher

Download or read book Fighting for the Confederacy written by Gary W. Gallagher and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2000-11-09 with total page 693 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published by UNC Press in 1989, Fighting for the Confederacy is one of the richest personal accounts in all of the vast literature on the Civil War. Alexander was involved in nearly all of the great battles of the East, from First Manassas through Appomattox, and his duties brought him into frequent contact with most of the high command of the Army of Northern Virginia, including Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. No other Civil War veteran of his stature matched Alexander's ability to discuss operations in penetrating detail-- this is especially true of his description of Gettysburg. His narrative is also remarkable for its utterly candid appraisals of leaders on both sides.

The Gallant Dead

Download The Gallant Dead PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Stackpole Books
ISBN 13 : 9780811701327
Total Pages : 428 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (13 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Gallant Dead by : Derek Smith

Download or read book The Gallant Dead written by Derek Smith and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Profiles over 120 Union and Confederate generals, listed in chronological order, who were killed in battle including Thomas J. Jackson, A.P. Hill, and John Reynolds.

Major General Robert E Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia

Download Major General Robert E Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Savas Beatie
ISBN 13 : 1611210097
Total Pages : 505 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (112 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Major General Robert E Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia by : Darrell Collins

Download or read book Major General Robert E Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia written by Darrell Collins and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2008-06-20 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: FINALIST FOR BIOGRAPHY, 2008, ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARD WINNER, 2009, THE DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN AWARD FOR BEST BOOK ON SOUTHERN HISTORY Jedediah Hotchkiss, Stonewall Jackson’s renowned mapmaker, expressed the feelings of many contemporaries when he declared that Robert Rodes was the best division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. This well-deserved accolade is all the more remarkable considering that Rodes, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and a prewar railroad engineer, was one of a very few officers in Lee’s army to rise so high without the benefit of a West Point education. Major General Robert E. Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia: A Biography, is the first deeply researched scholarly biography on this remarkable Confederate officer. From First Manassas in 1861 to Third Winchester in 1864, Rodes served in all the great battles and campaigns of the legendary Army of Northern Virginia. He quickly earned a reputation as a courageous and inspiring leader who delivered hard-hitting attacks and rock steady defensive efforts. His greatest moment came at Chancellorsville in the spring of 1863, when he spearheaded Stonewall Jackson’s famous flank attack that crushed the left wing of General Hooker’s Army of the Potomac. Rodes began the conflict with a deep yearning for recognition and glory, coupled with an indifferent attitude toward religion and salvation. When he was killed at the height of his glorious career at Third Winchester on September 19, 1864, a trove of prayer books and testaments were found on his corpse. Based upon exhaustive new research, Darrell Collins’s new biography breathes life into a heretofore largely overlooked Southern soldier. Although Rodes’ widow consigned his personal papers to the flames after the war, Collins has uncovered a substantial amount of firsthand information to complete this compelling portrait of one of Robert E. Lee’s most dependable field generals. Darrell L. Collins is the author of several books on the Civil War, including General William Averell’s Salem Raid: Breaking the Knoxville Supply Line (1999) and Jackson’s Valley Campaign: The Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic (The Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series, 1993). A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Darrell and his wife Judith recently relocated to Conifer, Colorado.

Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune

Download Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : University of Georgia Press
ISBN 13 : 0820342777
Total Pages : 481 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (23 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune by : Robert Gould Shaw

Download or read book Blue-Eyed Child of Fortune written by Robert Gould Shaw and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2011-08-15 with total page 481 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the Boston Common stands one of the great Civil War memorials, a magnificent bronze sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. It depicts the black soldiers of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry marching alongside their young white commander, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw. When the philosopher William James dedicated the memorial in May 1897, he stirred the assembled crowd with these words: "There they march, warm-blooded champions of a better day for man. There on horseback among them, in the very habit as he lived, sits the blue-eyed child of fortune." In this book Shaw speaks for himself with equal eloquence through nearly two hundred letters he wrote to his family and friends during the Civil War. The portrait that emerges is of a man more divided and complex--though no less heroic--than the Shaw depicted in the celebrated film Glory. The pampered son of wealthy Boston abolitionists, Shaw was no abolitionist himself, but he was among the first patriots to respond to Lincoln's call for troops after the attack on Fort Sumter. After Cedar Mountain and Antietam, Shaw knew the carnage of war firsthand. Describing nightfall on the Antietam battlefield, he wrote, "the crickets chirped, and the frogs croaked, just as if nothing unusual had happened all day long, and presently the stars came out bright, and we lay down among the dead, and slept soundly until daylight. There were twenty dead bodies within a rod of me." When Federal war aims shifted from an emphasis on restoring the Union to the higher goal of emancipation for four million slaves, Shaw's mother pressured her son into accepting the command of the North's vanguard black regiment, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts. A paternalist who never fully reconciled his own prejudices about black inferiority, Shaw assumed the command with great reluctance. Yet, as he trained his recruits in Readville, Massachusetts, during the early months of 1963, he came to respect their pluck and dedication. "There is not the least doubt," he wrote his mother, "that we shall leave the state, with as good a regiment, as any that has marched." Despite such expressions of confidence, Shaw in fact continued to worry about how well his troops would perform under fire. The ultimate test came in South Carolina in July 1863, when the Fifty-fourth led a brave but ill-fated charge on Fort Wagner, at the approach to Charleston Harbor. As Shaw waved his sword and urged his men forward, an enemy bullet felled him on the fort's parapet. A few hours later the Confederates dumped his body into a mass grave with the bodies of twenty of his men. Although the assault was a failure from a military standpoint, it proved the proposition to which Shaw had reluctantly dedicated himself when he took command of the Fifty-fourth: that black soldiers could indeed be fighting men. By year's end, sixty new black regiments were being organized. A previous selection of Shaw's correspondence was privately published by his family in 1864. For this volume, Russell Duncan has restored many passages omitted from the earlier edition and has provided detailed explanatory notes to the letters. In addition he has written a lengthy biographical essay that places the young colonel and his regiment in historical context.

The Gettysburg Address

Download The Gettysburg Address PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Open Road Media
ISBN 13 : 1504080246
Total Pages : 9 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (4 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Gettysburg Address by : Abraham Lincoln

Download or read book The Gettysburg Address written by Abraham Lincoln and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2022-11-29 with total page 9 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The complete text of one of the most important speeches in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln arrived at the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to remember not only the grim bloodshed that had just occurred there, but also to remember the American ideals that were being put to the ultimate test by the Civil War. A rousing appeal to the nation’s better angels, The Gettysburg Address remains an inspiring vision of the United States as a country “conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

Gettysburg Requiem

Download Gettysburg Requiem PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0195331311
Total Pages : 464 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (953 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Gettysburg Requiem by : Glenn W. LaFantasie

Download or read book Gettysburg Requiem written by Glenn W. LaFantasie and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2006 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: William C. Oates is best remembered as the Confederate officer defeated at Gettysburgs Little Round Top, losing a golden opportunity to turn the Union's flank and win the battle--and perhaps the war. Now, Glenn W. LaFantasie--bestselling author of Twilight at Little Round Top--has written a gripping biography of Oates, a narrative that reads like a novel. Here then is a richly evocative story of Southern life before, during, and after the Civil War, based on first-time and exclusive access of family papers and never-before-seen archives.

The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy

Download The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : LSU Press
ISBN 13 : 9780807127476
Total Pages : 292 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (274 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy by : Robert K. Krick

Download or read book The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy written by Robert K. Krick and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2002 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No military unit in all the annals of American history exceeds in reputation Robert E. Lee's illustrious Army of Northern Virginia. In ten chapters based on exhaustive research, esteemed Civil War scholar Robert K. Krick gives eloquent examination to aspects of the army ranging from biographical sketches and the best and worst books on the subject, to Confederate troop strengths and locating soldier records. He begins with two key events: Thomas J. Stonewall Jackson's mortal wounding at Chancellorsville; and Jackson's most famous quarrel with a subordinate, which resulted in the unsuccessful court martial of General Richard B. Garnett. Krick continues with chapters on James Longstreet's failure at Knoxville and the prickly relationship between Jubal A. Early and the undisciplined Valley Cavalry. His piece on Robert E. Rodes is the first complete portrait of Lee's best division commander, whose wife methodically burned all of his letters sent home, forever preventing a full-scale biography. Krick, however, has uncovered a wide array of unpublished material on Rodes to sketch him in fresh perspective. Another essay considers the life and career of Colonel R. Welby Carter - a rogue

Gettysburg's Confederate Dead

Download Gettysburg's Confederate Dead PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781611216547
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (165 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Gettysburg's Confederate Dead by : Gregory Coco

Download or read book Gettysburg's Confederate Dead written by Gregory Coco and published by . This book was released on 2022-06-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At least 10,000 Union and Confederates soldiers lost their lives as a result of the Battle of Gettysburg. Their journey of the Confederate dead to a peaceful afterlife, explains historian Gregory Coco, was a much longer and lonely experience.

Carrying the Flag

Download Carrying the Flag PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Hachette UK
ISBN 13 : 0786739525
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (867 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Carrying the Flag by : Gordon C. Rhea

Download or read book Carrying the Flag written by Gordon C. Rhea and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2009-04-13 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For forty years, Charles Whilden lived a life noteworthy for failure. Then, in a remarkable chain of events, this aging, epileptic desk clerk from Charleston found himself plunged into the brutal battlefields of the Wilderness (May 57, 1864) and Spotsylvania Court House (May 820, 1864). In an astonishing act of bravery, he wrapped the flag around his body and led a charge that won critical ground for the Confederates, changing the course of one of the war's most significant battles. Gordon C. Rhea combines his deep knowledge of Civil War history with original sources, such as a treasure trove of letters written by Charles Whilden, to tell the story of this unusual life. Growing up in a prominent family that had fallen on hard times, Charles received a good education, and his letters reveal flashes of intelligence. But he failed at the practice of law in his home state and in his endeavors elsewhere, including copper speculation, real estate ventures, and farming. After the attack on Fort Sumter, Charles returned to Charleston to enlist in Confederate service, only to be turned down until the rebellion was on its last legs. Even then he saw only a few weeks of combat. But in that time, he discovered a bravery within himself that nothing in his former existence suggested he had.