Being there . . . . to read, reflect, remember, and recommend whenever, wherever, and to
whomever FOUR supremely good biographies of front-line, fighting generals, three Union, one
Confederate of the War Between the States, their different sections, or parties of America
between 1861-65. At best, biographical writings collectively, or read as a literary genre, offer
insofar as possible unobstructed or completed verbal mental views and personality pictures of
personality. Here, meet James Montgomery, a leader of the free-state movement in pre-Civil
War Kansas and Missouri and associated with its direct-action military wing. He then joined the
Union Army and fought through most of the war (210 pages). Then, reunite with Lieutenant
General James Longstreet, the brilliant Confederate strategist-commander of the First Corps of
the Army Northern Virginia, via a fresh and unique perspective as he proposes an entirely new
type of warfare to beat the Unionists (241 pages). Then, hop right back over the front line to
meet General Gordon Granger in a long-overdue biography shed fascinating new information
on one of the most colorful commanders who fought through the war in the West from its first
major battles to its last (239 pages). Finally, round out your reviewer-friend’s four book
recommended assignment with new research from an eminently qualified historian to be
reckoned with in the decades to come. This, his first book, focuses all on the military career of
Brigadier General Strong Vincent, finally correcting a nearly 160 year lie regarding the fight to
save the Federal left at Little Round Top. Here, young author Hans G. Myers reinserts the
Brigadier General Strong Vincent into the historical narrative he truly belongs: the man who led
the Federal forces to victory on Little Round Top on July 2, 1863 (204 pages). In short, dear
reader, treat yourself to a panoramic view of the American Civil War, lest with time it continues
to fade away . . .
CASEMATE PUBLISHERS OFFERS FOUR INFORMATIVE, WELL-BALANCED, FASCINATING
BIOGRAPHIES TO READERS SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THE AMERICAN CIVIL
WAR IN A PANORAMA OF VARIEGATED CHANGING BATTLES AND MILITARY LEADERS WHO
GUIDED THEM
Reviewed and Highly, Highly Recommended by Don DeNevi
“Biographies of the participants and studies of the Civil War itself, in part or as a whole, make
up 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 the
labyrinth. I found biographies invaluable in my writings such as this one, Volume One of my
trilogy, “THE CIVIL WAR, A Narrative – – Fort Sumter to Perryville”. Biographies will be absolutely
indispensable to Volumes Two, “Fredericksburg to Meridian”, and Three, “Red River to
Appomattox.”
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 Most
Misunderstood Civil War General”, by F. Gregory Toretta. CASEMATE PUBLISHERS, Civil
War/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 in
the 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 this
Spring. Each is to be commended for it meticulous research, lively and military-oriented
chronicle, and action so real the authors have placed the buff in the center of the cores. In
General Montgomery’s biography, we have a true abolitionist who was a close associate and
ally 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 the
1863 Combahee River raid, which freed almost 800 slaves from South Carolina plantations. He
then commanded a brigade in the siege of Fort Wagner, near Charleston.
Meanwhile, author F. Gregory Toretta presents a fresh and unique perspective on Lieutenant
General James Longstreet and how and why he proposed a new type of warfare during the Civil
War. 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 the
generals who tailored their designs to pursue the war, analyzing Longstreet’s views of the
tactics 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 biography
of the Civil War general who saved the Union army from catastrophic defeat at the Battle of
Chickamauga 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 at
Chickamauga when the Rebel Army of Tennessee came within a hair’s breadth of destroying the
Union Army of the Cumberland. Without orders – even defying them – Granger marched his
Reserve Corps to the scene of the hottest action. Bringing fresh ammunition and hurling his
men against Longstreet’s oncoming legions, Granger provided just enough breathing room to
prevent 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 Strong
Vincent 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.
