One of Custer's Wolverines: The Civil War Letters of Brevet Brigadier General James H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry [Hardcover]

James Harvey Kidd (Author), Eric J. Wittenberg (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2000

Known primarily for his 1876 defeat at Little Big Horn, George Armstrong Custer is receiving renewed interest for his successful Civil War generalship. He led the Michigan Cavalry Brigade in more than sixty battles and skirmishes. Forming perhaps the finest single cavalry brigade in the war, these soldiers proved themselves and earned the nickname of “Custer’s Wolverines.” Among the Wolverines was James Harvey Kidd. A newspaperman by training, Kidd wrote long, eloquent letters to his friends and family in which he detailed the conditions and experiences of life in the field.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eric J. Wittenberg is an attorney in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to this book, he has also published “We Have It Damn Hard Out Here”: The Civil War Letters of Sergeant Thomas W. Smith, 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry (Kent State University Press, 1998). He will soon publish Custer’s Side: The Civil War Writings of James Harvey Kidd (Kent State University Press, April 2001).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 241 pages
• Publisher: Kent State Univ Pr (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873386701
• ISBN-13: 978-0873386708
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,825,961 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wittenberg Strikes Again!!, January 14, 2001

By 

Steven M. Leonard (Fort Leavenworth, KS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One of Custer's Wolverines: The Civil War Letters of Brevet Brigadier General James H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry (Hardcover)

In yet another wonderful anthology of the Civil War, author Eric J. Wittenberg expands his library of work on Custer's successor in the Michigan 6th Cavalry, Brigadier General James H. Kidd. Wittenberg provides readers with a remarkable sense of reality, an inescapable feeling that they are sharing a personal fireside chat with a living, breathing veteran of our own Civil War.

"Under Custer's Command" is sure to please any readers of his previous collections of James Kidd. This latest book, a well-preserved and edited anthology of the personal letters of the young colonel and brevet brigadier general continues Wittenberg's efforts to detail the wartime activities of the Michigan 6th Cavalry. One of the most successful mounted commands during the war, the "Wolverine's" received far less acclaim and few of the accolades enjoyed by cavalry units led by men such as Jeb Stuart and Stonewall Jackson.

"One of Custer's Wolverines" is an exceptionally well-written collection of personal letters. Kidd's abilities as a writer breath life into his experiences and observations. As one of the few existing collections of first-person accounts, Wittenber's latest book expands and improves on the legend of Custer's cavalry. This wonderful book is a fantastic addition to any serious Civil War Custer library.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is wonderful stuff!, December 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: One of Custer's Wolverines: The Civil War Letters of Brevet Brigadier General James H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry (Hardcover)

I have always been a fan of the cavalry in the Civil War, and this book provides some of the best accounts from a cavalryman I have ever seen. Mr. Wittenberg has done a great job annotating these letters, and has made the letters flow. Kidd was a great writer, and Mr. Wittenberg has made his work all the better. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves cavalry, or who loves the Michigan Brigade and Custer's men.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating personal story, August 14, 2010

By 

SandiegoSuzanne "Suzanne" (San Diego, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: One of Custer's Wolverines: The Civil War Letters of Brevet Brigadier General James H. Kidd, 6th Michigan Cavalry (Hardcover)

What I loved about this book was the personal insight it gave me into the life of a soldier in the Civil War. The added dimension of the link to Custer before his time in the West was another plus. As a former resident of Michigan whose family was plunged into poverty by the loss of its older sons in the Civil War and a mother of a University of Michigan grad, I was proud to get to know these young "Wolverines" on a personal level.