Lee's Cavalrymen [Hardcover]

Edward G. Longacre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2002

A companion to his previous work, Lincoln's Cavalrymen, this volume focuses on the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia its leadership, the military life of its officers and men as revealed in their diaries and letters, the development of its tactics as the war evolved, and the influence of government policies on its operational abilities. All the major players and battles are involved, including Joseph E. Johnston, P. G. T Beauregard, and J. E. B. Stuart. As evidenced in his previous books, Longacre's painstakingly thorough research will make this volume as indispensable a reference as its predecessor.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edward G. Longacre is the author of numerous articles and books on the Civil War, including Lincoln's Cavalrymen (0811710491), Army of Amateurs (0811701360), Grant's Cavalryman (0811707121), Pickett: Leader of the Charge, and the Fletcher Pratt Prizewinning The Cavalry at Gettysburg. He currently resides in Newport News, Virginia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books; 1 edition (April 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811708985
• ISBN-13: 978-0811708982
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,197,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lee's Cavalrymen, December 10, 2002

By 

K. Freeman (Apple Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lee's Cavalrymen (Hardcover)

An excellent overall study of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia. Told generally in a narrative style, the book provides a solid discussion of and evidence for Confederate cavalry dominance in the earlier part of the war. Specific actions are covered--just about all of them, in fact, which means there isn't necessarily room for a lot of detail about every event. Longacre also includes material on the training and daily life of the cavalry. Disadvantages in weaponry and materiel, as compared to the Federals, also get plenty of time.

Longacre gives a balanced picture of Stuart; it's hard to see how a historian of ANV cavalry could avoid writing about their commander for most of their existence, and Longacre offers both praise and criticism, as well as a couple of insightful points. He's not at all a Stuart partisan; in fact, one gets the feeling he would probably rank Hampton first in tactics.

This book offers a sensible account of the Confederate cavalry at (and not at) Gettysburg, and represents a modification of Longacre's view in his earlier book on the subject. In the earlier book Longacre seemed to accept the viewpoint that Stuart "should have" been present, whereas now, perhaps influenced by *Saber and Scapegoat* (which appears in his bibliography), he takes a more positive view.

Longacre is more original, and perhaps more questionable, when he analyzes the tactics of mounted charges. He claims that ANV troopers wanted to fight mounted, but with revolvers and other firearms rather than sabers, and I wish he had provided more supporting quotes, because I've read plenty of primary sources (Gilmor) where sabers are used with glee. His assertion that sabers were really more effective than firearms at close quarters is interesting, and he goes on to state that mounted charges really were of little use, being more or less outdated and causing high casualties. But did mounted fighting, which took place until the end of the war, actually result in more casualties than attrition, disease among horses and men, or the kind of dismounted fighting cavalrymen sometimes did in the West, where they were ordered to charge breastworks? (history of the 7th TN Cav). I wanted to see more analysis, more numbers and more quotes.

Certainly a complete and interesting account, as far as I know the only such work, and required reading for anyone interested in the topic.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Story of JEB Stuart's cavalry, August 28, 2004

By 

lordhoot "lordhoot" (Anchorage, Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lee's Cavalrymen (Hardcover)

This book read more like the military biography of JEB Stuart's Civil War career then an actual military history of Confederate cavalry under Robert E. Lee. Most of the book seem to be centered around Stuart's activities. Despite of what the other reviewers wrote, the author appears to be pretty sympathetic toward Stuart, running interference for him during Stuart's less then stellar performance during the Gettysburg campaign for example. In most all cases, the author tries to present JEB Stuart in the best of light. Once Stuart died at Yellow Traven in May 1864, the book come to a rather quick end as the remaining 47 pages dealt with what happened after Stuart's death and surrender of the Army of the Northern Virginia. This entire section get rather a short oversight even although it covers 11 months of the war.

The book I thought was well written and nicely researched. Its readable but I thought its not really for first time reader material. Some background reading should be required before reading this book. But as a military history book on Confederate cavalry of Army of Northern Virginia, I don't think this book rank very highly.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched, in depth look at the cavalry, July 2, 2006

By 

robbieandrose (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lee's Cavalrymen (Hardcover)

I found this book to be very informative and probably essential for anyone interested in understanding the cavalry arm of the ANV.