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Summary
Summary
Perry reintroduces readers to five men--Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, and William McKinley--who rose to the pinnacle of American life but are now largely forgotten. Photos.
Author Notes
James M. Perry began his journalism career at Leatherneck Magazine, and then worked for thirty-five years covering politics for the National Observer and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of five previous books, In 1977 was awarded the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award for a distinguished career in journalism
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This solid, informative group biography examines the five American Presidents who did military service during in the Civil War. The one professional soldier of the lot was Grant, whose wartime career is covered tersely at the book's beginning and end. The other four men-Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley-are scrutinized to a degree not matched by standard Civil War or political histories. All were volunteers; the first three commanded regiments or brigades; McKinley rose from sergeant to brevet major. Garfield was probably the ablest of the lot, exercising an independent command in Kentucky and later serving as chief of staff to Rosecrans at Chickamauga while energetically intriguing against his chief. Hayes was less conspicuous but distinguished himself in the 1864 Shenandoah Campaign; Harrison at least upheld his family name (he was the grandson of William Henry Harrison); and McKinley served as a commissary officer without lining his pockets. If the five were indeed "touched by fire," none of them burned very brightly as President, which is all the more reason for examining the time when they put on blue uniforms. Perry, whose classic The Bohemian Brigade covers Civil War correspondents, knows his territory and his people, and has a readable journalistic style. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A well-crafted survey of the five presidents--Grant, Hayes, Garfield, Harrison, and McKinley--who emerged from the ranks of the Union Army. The crucible of war has forged plenty of our nation's leaders, writes political journalist Perry (A Bohemian Brigade, 2000, etc.), and even though the citizenry has supposedly shied from letting the military get too close to politics, service in the armed forces has been the rule rather than the exception for most chief executives. The Civil War produced those five leaders, who, for better or worse, guided the nation through the Gilded Age. "They all fought in battles so desperate and bloody we can barely comprehend them," Perry observes. About those battles--the hells of Chickamauga, Shiloh, Atlanta, and others--he writes fluently and memorably. He has less to say about just how their battlefield experiences affected these presidents' time in office after the war, though he volunteers that Grant never seemed quite able to comprehend the complexity of civilian politics and that Garfield's skills as a backstabber, fine-tuned as a self-serving staff officer, found a perfect arena in the White House. Still, Perry does a good job of giving a you-are-there account of the presidents' seasons under fire and of drawing attention to often overlooked figures: Rutherford B. Hayes, who was wounded four times and fought bravely in a dozen major engagements; William McKinley, who served under Hayes and proved a hero at the Battle of Antietam; and Benjamin Harrison, a capable officer under William Tecumseh Sherman's command, even if it was true that "not many people actually liked him," thanks to his lack of social skills. Although he has but qualified praise for their work as politicians, Perry writes admiringly of their many contributions to the Union cause, with even a grudging nod to Garfield, "the smartest, the most devious, the most political of all these Civil War presidents." A solid overview, well suited to Civil War buffs. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
All chief executives during the Gilded Age volunteered for the Union in the Civil War (excluding Grover Cleveland, who paid for a substitute). Perry here recounts their war records with an eye to the subsequent electoral advertising of their bravery and patriotism. Waving the bloody shirt, as this has been fixed in political rhetoric, the Republicans pummeled the Democrats election after election, reminding the veteran vote of Grant's capture of Fort Donelson; Rutherford Hayes' wounding at South Mountain;ames Garfield's stand at the Battle of Chickamauga; and Benjamin Harrison's fighting in the battles of Atlanta. William McKinley? The supply officer's record was a bit spare, but he brought up rations under fire at Antietam, which if it did not tip that battle, yet affected the 1896 election. Though able to declaim on these battles, Civil War fans may be unacquainted with the future presidents' exact parts in them (Grant excepted, naturally). Perry, a wry storyteller, delivers the regimental-level detail that buffs crave while dusting events with the skepticism that presidential electoral campaigning invites. --Gilbert Taylor Copyright 2003 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Just how the mayhem and carnage of battle affected the men who have held the White House has been explored for some presidents (e.g., Washington, Eisenhower) but not all. The five men who witnessed combat firsthand during the Civil War-Garfield, Grant, Harrison, Hayes, and McKinley-are given their due in this book by Perry, a journalist and author of five other books on the Civil War. Of the five men selected, all were Republicans from the Midwest, four graduated from college, and four had political aspirations of some kind prior to the war. Drawing on letters, diaries, newspaper stories, and secondary sources, Perry offers detailed accounts of these future Presidents' wartime exploits. The chronicles of the various battles are particularly good. But in many ways, this book is a PT 109 tale: one learns much about how the war contributed to the political careers of the five through connections made or their ability to "wave the bloody shirt" during campaigns but less about how the war shaped their character. All in all, however, this is worthwhile reading for those who enjoy accounts of the Civil War or who wish to discover more about the Presidents of the Gilded Age.-Thomas J. Baldino, Wilkes Univ., Wilkes-Barre, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Introduction | p. xi |
| 1 April 12, 1861 | p. 1 |
| 2 The Making of a Great Commander | p. 17 |
| 3 Forts Henry and Donelson | p. 35 |
| 4 The Big Sandy Valley | p. 59 |
| 5 Political Advancement | p. 89 |
| 6 Chickamauga | p. 105 |
| 7 The West Virginia Campaign | p. 131 |
| 8 South Mountain, Antietam, and the Great Dublin Raid | p. 161 |
| 9 Crook's Devils | p. 193 |
| 10 The Railroad Business | p. 213 |
| 11 Marching Through Georgia | p. 231 |
| 12 April 9, 1865 | p. 263 |
| 13 The White House in the Gilded Age | p. 279 |
| Acknowledgments | p. 309 |
| Bibliography | p. 311 |
| Index | p. 319 |
