Richard Taylor: Soldier Prince of Dixie [Hardcover]

T. Michael Parrish (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1992

Using widely scattered and previously unknown primary sources, Parrish's biography of Confederate general Richard Taylor presents him as one of the Civil War's most brilliant generals, eliciting strong performances from his troops in the face of manifold obstacles in three theaters of action.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This definitive biography by the author of Confederate Imprints: A Bibliography presents Taylor, familiar to historians as one of the Confederacy's better generals, in a broader context. A wealthy plantation owner, son of President Zachary Taylor, he saw himself as a principled aristocrat and conservative critic of democracy (whether northern or southern), failing to realize that his position was sustained by his involvement in the democratic struggle for power and capitalist competition for wealth. Only Taylor's service to the Confederacy, during which he proved himself as both a combat leader and an administrator, reflected his ideal of public duty. His postwar assertion of southern rights within the Democratic party confirmed his status as the titular "soldier prince of Dixie"--a characterization well suited to a life lived on the boundary between myth and reality.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Confederate General Taylor was the son of one president (Zachary Taylor) and the brother-in-law of another (Confederate Jefferson Davis). In addition to his military career, he was active politically and was a gifted writer. Taylor's most important command was his repulse of the Union's Red River campaign. This book examines all the facets of Taylor's life but is, at heart, a military biography. Because Parrish presents a surprisingly favorable view of Taylor's military ability, a section comparing his opinions with those of other generals would have been very useful. Nevertheless, academic libraries may want to consider this solid though unanalytical biography.
- Fritz Buckallew, Univ. of Central Oklahoma Lib., Edmond
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 570 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; 1St Edition edition (July 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807820326
• ISBN-13: 978-0807820322
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,350,121 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid, scholarly effort, May 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Richard Taylor: Soldier Prince of Dixie (Hardcover)

This is a highly readable yet scholarly treatment of an important nineteenth century Southerner. Dick Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, was a Yale-educated aristocrat and Louisiana sugar plantation owner when the Civil War broke out. By war's end he was a Lieutenant General. Although he had no pre-war military training, he became one of the Confederacy's most able commanders. Parrish expertly covers Taylor's entire life, but naturally focuses on the Civil War exploits. In addition to being an excellent strategist and tactician, Taylor was colorful, self-confident, oblivious to what others thought of him, and a lifelong practitioner of noblesse oblige. Parrish is clearly enamored of his subject, but this does not stop him from critically examining the contradictions and hypocrisies inherent in Taylor's worldview. The book is free of the anachronisms and politically correct jargon which mar so much recent American historical scholarship.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read as a prelude to Destruction and Reconstruction, October 1, 2008

By 

William S. Grass "Bill Grass (Wsgrass)" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Richard Taylor: Soldier Prince of Dixie (Hardcover)

Before reading the personal memoir of an historical figure, I always make an effort to first read a scholarly biography of that person if one is available. Since Richard Taylor's memoir "Destruction and Reconstruction" is often highly ranked among the suggested reading lists for the Civil War, I planned to read it, so I set out to first find a bio. That's when I found Parrish's "Soldier Prince of Dixie."

Through Parrish's depiction of Taylor's life we are given a front row seat first into the making of an aristocratic, Yale educated, slave-holding planter, and a son of a president no less. By following Taylor we see in microcosm the story of the late antebellum South and its destruction.

He became a planter by inheritance when his father died. He went from being an elitist Whig to being swept into the torrent by fire-eating democrats. With no prior military training he became an outstanding field commander for the C.S.A.; among talented amateurs he was surpassed only by Forrest and perhaps Cleburne. Early on he served in the east in the Valley with Stonewall. Later he returned to the Trans-Mississippi and eventually reached the pinnacle of his achievements by stopping Banks in the Red River campaign.

As a result of the war his plantation was destroyed, and he endured the death of his young son. Still, he retained some national influence. He advised President Johnson on cabinet appointments and was a personal acquaintance of Henry Adams, author of "The Education of Henry Adams."

For anyone planning on reading "Destruction and Reconstruction," Parrish's work is valuable for its maps, especially the ones that show the Trans-Mississippi areas like the Red River Valley and the Lafourche and Teche bayou regions.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A solid, scholarly effort, May 20, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Richard Taylor: Soldier Prince of Dixie (Hardcover)

This is a highly readable yet scholarly treatment of an important nineteenth century Southerner. Dick Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, was a Yale-educated aristocrat and Louisiana sugar plantation owner when the Civil War broke out. By war's end he was a Lieutenant General. Although he had no pre-war military training, he became one of the Confederacy's most able commanders. Parrish expertly covers Taylor's entire life, but naturally focuses on the Civil War exploits. In addition to being an excellent strategist and tactician, Taylor was colorful, self-confident, oblivious to what others thought of him, and a lifelong practitioner of noblesse oblige. Parrish is clearly enamored of his subject, but this does not stop him from critically examining the contradictions and hypocrisies inherent in Taylor's worldview. The book is free of the anachronisms and politically correct jargon which mar so much recent American historical scholarship.