Lincoln's Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of the Potomac

Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2000. First Edition Stated . Hard Back. Fine/Fine. 6 1/4" x 9 1/4. 470 Pages Indexed. Vinyl protective covering in place since new. The Civil War cavalry has received intermittent, uneven, and romanticized coverage since Appomattox. Historian Edward G. Longacre has corrected this oversight by consulting at least fifty manuscript collections pertaining to general officers of cavalry as well as the unpublished letters and diaries of more than 450 officers and enlisted men, representing almost every mounted unit in the Army of the Potomac. The information he has compiled represents the most comprehensive history of the Union cavalry ever written. Lincoln's Cavalrymen describes the organizational, administrative, and operational history of the mounted arm of "Mr. Lincoln's Army." It treats in detail all aspects of the cavalry's service-its life in camp, on the march, in battle, and on expedition. It covers the gamut of cavalry life-not only field operations, but also the recruiting, organizing, mounting, remounting, equipping, training, tactical instruction, and war-long support of this critical branch of the nineteenth-century army. Furthermore, the book highlights the cavalry's more influential commanders and examines the depth and quality of their leadership. It also seeks to place the mounted arm in the context of the army and the war effort as a whole. Well known for interrogating "conventional wisdom," Longacre also contributes some provocative analyses regarding the mounted army's organization, leadership, and tactics. Lincoln's Cavalrymen is an exhaustive study that no Civil War enthusiast will want to miss.