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Reviews
A very nice review of my Gen. Rufus Barringer biography from an Amazon reader:
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I had the good fortune of meeting the author at a book signing and bought the book on a whim. I can say without reservation it was one of the best Civil War biographies I've read in a long time. There couldn't have been many men on either side who experienced as much time under enemy fire as did Barringer and still survive the war. His war record was astonishing. I knew very little about the exploits of the North Carolina Cavalry Brigade, commanded by Barringer, until I read this book. The account of Barringer's meeting with Abraham Lincoln shortly after his capture in the last days of the war alone was worth the price of the book.
I also found interesting his relationship with Stonewall Jackson as well as Jackson's revelations to Barringer on the former's "Black Flag" policy. Finally, the section on reconstruction was illuminating. He was truly a unique and heroic individual in many respects who aligned himself with radical Republicians after the war. Barringer's indiscretions as a young man up until his first marriage and his relationship with a slave all provided very interesting texture to this complex man.
I highly recommend this book. It is a quick read. Civil War buffs will love it as will anyone who appreciates the story of an independent minded man grappling head on with the great issues of his day.
Great review of the Munford biography by an amazon reader:
You always hear of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, JEB Stuart in action in the Eastern theater of war and less from those in the West; but that aside, men like Munford who do their duty are sometimes overlooked or altogether forgotten. This narrative provides a look into the man, his triumphs and his struggles and woes as he was passed over multiple times to rise to an epic personage of the war. Barringer captures not only a look at the man himself, but provides brief sketches of engagements between Union and Confederate forces in the fields that are rarely to never heard of in a history book. I recommend this book to any who truly would like to see history in its finest as the subject has truly more to offer than just "names and dates." I look forward to reading Barringer's other works.
A great review of the Rosser biography by an Amazon reader:
"In “Custer’s Gray Rival: The Life of Confederate Major General Thomas Lafayette Rosser,” Sheridan R. Barringer has now provided historians with the much needed biography of one of the preeminent cavalry generals of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. His concise research clearly overshadows previous attempts at evaluating General Thomas Lafayette Rosser, and his writing style describes a portrait of the man, warts and all, better than any that has come before.
For all of his years in command of Confederate cavalry units, during some of the most vicious battles of the War, Tom Rosser is known by many arm-chair historians only as the famous John Pelham’s West Point roommate. The “Gallant Pelham” had a bright, meteoric fame that outshone Rosser in the South, and the later fame of Rosser’s Northern rival, George Armstrong Custer, would eclipse anything in the memory of all but the most serious student of the conflict.
However, Tom Rosser was a key player in most of the combat in Virginia. His actions bear scrutiny, if for no other reason that upon those singular actions hung both victory and defeat in pivotal battles such as Kelly’s Ford, Trevillian Station, and Five Forks. Fortunately, Barringer has long studied these battles and brings his insight to the examination of Rosser’s actions. In addition, he uses his analysis of Rosser’s decisions to evaluate the nuances of Rosser’s character. Unlike some biographers, Sheridan Barringer is not averse to shining a light on his subject’s darker side. Thomas Rosser was not a saint, and his personality traits leave much to be desired. In particular, his alcoholism impacted his command on several occasions, as did his tendency to hold a grudge. All in all, though, Rosser was a brave fighting man and a skilled tactician, one whose service to his country was predominantly positive.
The level of Barringer’s research is impressive. My own research of Pelham made me familiar with many of the book’s sources, but I was often both intrigued and surprised by some of the fascinating minutiae found from obscure sources that Barringer has discovered. The author wove those details into a highly entertaining and educational study of an American soldier: Thomas Lafayette Rosser."
Here is a nice review of the Thomas L. Munford biography from an amazon reader:
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You always hear of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, JEB Stuart in action in the Eastern theater of war and less from those in the West; but that aside, men like Munford who do their duty are sometimes overlooked or altogether forgotten. This narrative provides a look into the man, his triumphs and his struggles and woes as he was passed over multiple times to rise to an epic personage of the war. Barringer captures not only a look at the man himself, but provides brief sketches of engagements between Union and Confederate forces in the fields that are rarely to never heard of in a history book. I recommend this book to any who truly would like to see history in its finest as the subject has truly more to offer than just "names and dates." I look forward to reading Barringer's other works.