“Biographies of the participants and studies of the Civil War itself, in part or as a whole, makeup the secondary sources. These are not only interesting and rewarding in their own right,filling in and deepening the over-all impression, but they also serve as a guide through thelabyrinth. I found biographies invaluable in my writings such as this one, Volume One of mytrilogy, “THE CIVIL WAR, A Narrative – – Fort Sumter to Perryville”. Biographies will be absolutelyindispensable to Volumes Two, “Fredericksburg to Meridian”, and Three, “Red River toAppomattox.”
Shelby Foote, in 1958 as one of America’s three greatest Civil War historians
“JAMES MONTGOMERY, Abolitionist Warrior”, by Robert C. Conner. CASEMATE PUBLISHERS,Civil War/Biography: 2022, 209 pages, 6 ¼” x 9 ¼”, hardcover; $34.95. Visit,
www.casematepublishers.com.
“LIEUTENANT GENERAL JAMES LONGSTREET, Innovative Military Strategist and the MostMisunderstood Civil War General”, by F. Gregory Toretta. CASEMATE PUBLISHERS, CivilWar/Biography: 2022, 241 pages, 6 ¼” x 9 ¼”, hardcover; $34.95. Visit,www.casematepublishers.com.“GENERAL GORDON GRANGER, The Savior of Chickamauga and the Man Behind ‘Juneteenth’ ” ,by Robert C. Conner. CASEMATE PUBLISHERS, Leadership in Action: 2022, 239 pages, 6”x9”,softcover; $24.95. Visit, www.casematepublishers.com.“THE LION OF ROUND TOP, The Life and Military Service of Brigadier General Strong Vincent inthe American War”, by H.G. Myers, Foreword by Dr. Frank P. Varney. CASEMATE PUBLISHERS,
Civil War/Biography: 2022, 204 pages, 6 ¼” x 9 ¼”, $34.95. Visit, www.casematepublishers.com.
Four most readable Civil War histories from Casemate await the Civil War enthusiast thisSpring. Each is to be commended for it meticulous research, lively and military-orientedchronicle, and action so real the authors have placed the buff in the center of the cores. InGeneral Montgomery’s biography, we have a true abolitionist who was a close associate andally of John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Colonels Wentworth Higginson and Robert G. Shaw.Montgomery led his African American regiment along with Tubman and other civilians in the1863 Combahee River raid, which freed almost 800 slaves from South Carolina plantations. Hethen commanded a brigade in the siege of Fort Wagner, near Charleston.Meanwhile, author F. Gregory Toretta presents a fresh and unique perspective on LieutenantGeneral James Longstreet and how and why he proposed a new type of warfare during the CivilWar. Many historians and biographers have long misunderstood Longstreet and his motives,not focusing on the total picture. The text takes a new viewpoint of the Civil War and thegenerals who tailored their designs to pursue the war, analyzing Longstreet’s views of thetactics and strategy employed by senior officers and how his ideas differed.Connor comes along and in his superlative narration offers us the first full-length biographyof the Civil War general who saved the Union army from catastrophic defeat at the Battle ofChickamauga and went on to play major roles in the Chattanooga and Mobile campaigns.Immediately after the war, as commander of U.S. troops in Texas, his actions sparked the“Juneteenth” celebrations of slavery’s end, which continues to this day. His first fame came atChickamauga when the Rebel Army of Tennessee came within a hair’s breadth of destroying theUnion Army of the Cumberland. Without orders – even defying them – Granger marched hisReserve Corps to the scene of the hottest action. Bringing fresh ammunition and hurling hismen against Longstreet’s oncoming legions, Granger provided just enough breathing room toprevent that Union defeat from becoming the worst open-field battle disgrace of the war.H.G. Myers, weaving together primary and secondary sources to contextualize StrongVincent in the world of the American Civil War, author brings back into focus a man who should
never have been neglected. The author raises the question of how much of the story we all
know we all know of the second day of Gettysburg was true to begin with. Using never-before-published documents and records, this is the first modern biography of the man who really
saved little Round Top for the Federal Forces.
