Unlikely Warriors: General Benjamin H. Grierson and His Family [Paperback]

Shirley A. Leckie (Author), William H. Leckie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1998

Unlikely Warriors is the story of Benjamin Henry Grierson, Civil War hero and postwar commander of the Tenth Cavalry "Buffalo Soldiers," and his family on the western frontier. In 1863, Colonel Grierson led a cavalry brigade of 1,700 men on a daring raid through Mississippi, which helped Ulysses S. Grant launch his successful campaign against Vicksburg. In the army reorganization of 1866, Grierson accepted an appointment as colonel of the Tenth Cavalry, a command of white officers and black enlisted men. In this biography, William and Shirley Leckie explore three generations of Grierson’s family, and for this edition they include a new preface on recent interest in the Buffalo Soldiers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shirley A. Leckie, Professor of History at the University of Central Florida, is the author of Elizabeth Bacon Custer and the Making of a Myth and Angie Debo: Pioneering Historian.

William H. Leckie was the coauthor, with Shirley A. Leckie, of Unlikely Warriors: General Benjamin Grierson and His Family and The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Black Calvary in the West, rev.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press (March 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080613027X
• ISBN-13: 978-0806130279
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,910,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting study!, December 2, 2000

By 

Alexander Bielakowski (Leavenworth, KS) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unlikely Warriors: General Benjamin H. Grierson and His Family (Paperback)

Benjamin Grierson, a former musician with no prior military experience, is perhaps most famous for "Grierson's Raid", which served as a diversion during General Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg Campaign in the Spring of 1863. As the result of the famous raid and other service during the war, Grierson rose in rank from major to major general of volunteers. Unlike many other citizen-soldiers of the Civil War, however, he did not return to civilian life after the war. Instead, Grierson accepted a commission as a Regular Army colonel and was given command of the newly-formed 10th Cavalry Regiment. The 10th Cavalry was one of the four, along with the 9th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments newly formed "Colored" regiments of the U.S. Army, which had white officers and black soldiers. Grierson welcomed the opportunity to command a regiment which many other white officers would have regarded as potentially damaging to their careers. Not only did he command the regiment for a quarter of a century, but he continually defended his soldiers against the prejudice that was prevalent throughout American society at the time. Grierson's rather progressive thinking also extended to his dealing with American Indians. Though he and his men participated in many of the Indian wars of the Southwest, Grierson continually sought a more intelligent and humane solution to the Indian "problem". Much of what we now see as Grierson's virtues, however, came with a price to his career and to his family. For instance, Grierson's continual defense of his men certainly played a role in his not being promoted to brigadier general until three months before his retirement in 1890. Likewise, his family would suffer greatly during the frequent moves from one gruelingly inhospitable frontier Army post to another. At least partly as a result of his career choices, Grierson's relationship with his wife was frequently stormy and the military dynasty which he had predicted ultimately failed to appear. Though his wife bore him seven children, only four sons survived into adulthood. Of these surviving sons, three remained life-long bachelors, while only one married and produced any offspring. All of Grierson's children appear to have suffered, in varying degrees, from the manic-depression that was prevalent among his wife's family, and two of his sons would have to be institutionalized.

Benjamin Grierson, himself, emerges from this work as a tragic figure. He was a man who was ahead of his time on issues of racial tolerance and was punished, directly or indirectly, for his beliefs. Likewise, he witnessed financial catastrophe, disease, and mental illness destroy his family. In the end, the reader is left wondering if the old adage is really true, that "no good deed goes unpunished."

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The life of a soldier and his family, May 5, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unlikely Warriors: General Benjamin H. Grierson and His Family (Paperback)

Benjamin Grierson's life was filled with major accomplishments and terrible tragedy. A failed merchant with a wife and two children when the Civil War broke out, he joined an Illinois cavalry unit, despite being fearful of horses. Rising through the ranks, he became a hero after leading a large force of Union cavalry on a 16-day raid through Mississippi in 1863, causing much damage to Confederate stores and property and contributing significantly to Grant's success in the siege of Vicksburg. After the war he was put in command of the Tenth Cavalry, made up of black enlisted men (often referred to as Buffalo Soldiers), and posted to the frontier west. It was here that his career languished, due mainly to senior army general Phil Sheridan's refusal to give Grierson promotions, rewarding men who had served under him during the war instead.

Grierson was an honorable man and fair, and these qualities also seemed to attract enemies. He defended his black soldiers fiercely and fought the discrimination that was constantly leveled against them. He also spoke up for the Indians and favored negotiating with them rather than slaughtering them. It wasn't until 1890, the year he retired from the army, that he was promoted to brigadier general. Tragedy also befell his family: three of his children died before reaching adulthood, and two others suffered mental breakdowns as adults. Grierson often had to support various members of his family during tough times, and the financial strain was great. Living the life of a frontier army officer, often being transferred, was also difficult for him and his family. But the Leckies make it clear that the Griersons braved it all and were a loving couple. This biography tells a very moving story, and tells it well and in detail. Fortunately the Griersons were a letter-writing (and saving) family, and the Leckies were able to substantiate much of their biography with information (and emotions) garnered from these letters. It's a fascinating and poignant story. Highly recommended.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Where's Grierson?, April 13, 2008

By 

Michael E. Fitzgerald (Kingwood, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Unlikely Warriors: General Benjamin H. Grierson and His Family (Paperback)

This story is purported to be about Union General Benjamin Grierson's military life. If the author had stuck to the General's military accomplishments this would have been a much more focused, and more interesting work. Instead the story focuses to a very large extent on the General's family relationships and the reader is treated to entire discussions of the General's extended family, i.e., his spouse, children, brothers, sisters, etc., people whose only claim to fame was that they were related to Benjamin Grierson. Its really very odd and detracts from the central theme, the General, what he accomplished with his life and why he is the topic that sells this book.

However, the sections covering Grierson's Civil War experiences and his western frontier service after the war are really quite well done. You will like Ben Grierson. He is a committed friend, loving father and spouse, loyal subordinate and concerned about the welfare of his troops. His Mississippi raid in support of U.S. Grant's Vicksburg victory is an amazing accomplishment and his service with the U.S. Tenth Cavalry, the black troopers commonly referred to as "buffalo soldiers", sets an example hard to emulate. Organizing this regiment after the war, it sees extended service successively in Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. The Tenth's accomplishments are the things of legend and one wishes the author had spent more, much more time on this amazing portion of Grierson's life.

Altogether this is a fair read, one that will not disappoint if you avoid the extended family genealogy that takes up almost one third of this book.