Wednesday, March 4, 2009

The Last Confederate General: John C. Vaughn and His East Tennessee Cavalry

by Charles Larry Gordon

From the publisher:
The Last Confederate General presents the first biography of Confederate cavalry commander John Crawford Vaughn, from his birth in East Tennessee, through the Mexican War, the gold rush, and the War Between the States, to his return to Tennessee and his untimely death in Georgia.

In the mid-nineteenth century John Crawford Vaughn was one of the most famous men in Tennessee. He was the first man to raise a regiment in the state and one of the very last Confederate generals to surrender. History has not been kind to Vaughn, who finally emerges from the shadows in this absorbing assessment of his life and military career.

Follow Vaughn and his East Tennessee Cavalry to Manassas, Vicksburg, and other crucial battles as Larry Gordon makes use of new research and information to reveal the complete picture of Vaughn, including:

· Vaughn's hitherto unknown location on the field of crucial battles;

· His ability to overcome multiple battlefield wounds;

· His wife and family's incarceration as Union hostages;

· The effects of his anxiety over his family's incarceration on his performance as a military commander;

· His close friendship with Jefferson Davis-close enough for him to become Davis's escort during the final month of the war; and

· His importance as one of the few Confederate generals to return to Tennessee after Reconstruction, where he soon became president of the state senate.

Larry Gordon is a graduate of the Armed Forces Staff College and Army War College; and a veteran of the Vietnam War, with many years of service in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Mr. Gordon, who works at the Institute for Defense Analyses, and has long been an interpretive volunteer at Manassas National Battlefield Park. He lives in Northern Virginia.

From CWBN
This book's exact release date is unknown but falls within this month.