The Last Cavaliers; Confederate and Union Cavalry in the Civil War

New York, N.Y.: St. Martin's Press, 1979. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. Good/Good. Clarice Borio (Maps). xiii, [1], 338 pages. Illustrations. Map. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Some wear to dust jacket. Some edge soiling. Samuel Carter III, a recognized Civil War authority, demonstrates the sure hand of a master storyteller in this, the first full-length history of the dashing, valiant, and often marvelously eccentric Civil War cavalry leaders and their men. With all the drama of an epic novel, THE LAST CAVALIERS documents the role of horsemen throughout the war. The book contains vivid and accurate retellings of every major regular and irregular cavalry engagement during the war. Though a bloody and brutal affair, the American Civil War gave rise to a number of legendary military figures, and probably the most lionized were in the cavalry. Southern gentlemen being raised to horse, the cavalry was at first better utilized by the Confederate forces, but then came to play a vital role in the Union victory as General Sheridan turned his green soldiers into daring horsemen. Here are vivid and accurate retellings of every major regular and irregular cavalry engagement. And here amid a wealth of anecdote and historical detail emerge the characters of these great soIdiers: J.E.B. Stuart and his Black Horse cavalry; John Singleton Mosby's partisans harassing Union troops to the end; Morgan's Terrible Men; George Armstrong Custer, called "Goldilocks" behind his back; Nathan Bedford Forrest; Sherman and his firm distrust of the cavalry; Turner Ashby; Phil Sheridan; and others. Carter tells us of the horses they rode into battle and of the women they returned to, and most importantly, how and why they won and lost. THE LAST CAVALIERS is that rarest of books: an accurate and reliable history written with the grace and fluidity of a splendid work of fiction. It should appeal not only to Civil War experts but to everyone who enjoys an exciting story of men in war.