The Bravest of the Brave

View Inside

344 pp., 6.125 x 9.25, 8 halftones, 1 graph, notes, bibl., index

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-4696-1485-4
Published: April 2014
E-book EPUB ISBN: 978-0-8078-9570-2
Published: June 2010
E-book PDF ISBN: 979-8-8908-8296-7
Published: June 2010

Civil War America

Buy this Book

Paperback $45.00
E-Book $29.99

CHEGG Ebooks Corp. - Ebooks.com Apple iBookstore Kno Inc. Kobo Ebook Reader Barnes & Noble Ebooks (Nook) Amazon Kindle Sony Ebooks Google eBookstore

For Professors:
Free E-Exam Copies

To purchase online via an independent bookstore, visit Bookshop.org

UNC Press Civil War 150

Born in Lincolnton, North Carolina, in 1837, Stephen Dodson Ramseur rose meteorically through the military ranks. Graduating from West Point in 1860, he joined the Confederate army as a captain. By the time of his death near the end of the war at the Battle of Cedar Creek, he had attained the rank of major general in the Army of Northern Virginia. He excelled in every assignment and was involved as a senior officer in many of the war's most important conflicts east of the Appalachians.

Ramseur's letters--over 180 of which are collected and transcribed here by George Kundahl--provide his incisive observations on these military events. At the same time, they offer rare insight into the personal opinions of a high-ranking Civil War officer. Correspondence by Civil War figures is often strictly professional. But in personal letters to his wife, Nellie, and best friend, David Schenk, Ramseur candidly expresses beliefs about the social, military, and political issues of the day. He also shares vivid accounts of battle and daily camp life, providing colorful details on soldiering during the war.

About the Author

A retired senior government executive and army major general, George Kundahl is an independent scholar living in Virginia and France. He is author of Alexandria Goes to War: Beyond Robert E. Lee and Confederate Engineer: Training and Campaigning with John Morris Wampler.
For more information about George G. Kundahl, visit the Author Page.

Reviews

"The letters . . . offer rare insight into the personal opinions of a high-ranking Civil War officer."--McCormick Messenger

"Kundahl's collection and commentary provide an outstanding depiction of Ramseur's views, ambitions, and personal feelings. Kundahl also supplies informative and useful footnotes for background information. . . . A skillfully edited collection. . . . Useful and interesting not only to military historians but also to those interested in the views of young white men of Ramseur's generation."--Virginia Magazine of History and Biography

"Edited in a way that provides ample context in non-overwhelming fashion. . . .The richness of content in Ramseur's letters should brand Kundahl's edited volume as an instant classic and an invaluable research tool for Civil War historians."--Civil War News

"While this collection will be particularly valuable for scholars, this book should not be limited to the dusty confines of university offices. As a tale of friendship and love, life and death, duty and manhood, Ramseur's story encompasses many of the enduring and universal experiences of human existences."--Civil War Book Review

"Kundahl's edition of Ramseur's letters will likely stand as one of the most important published collections of Civil War letters."--The North Carolina Historical Review

"This treasure-trove of Stephen Dodson Ramseur's candid and thoughtful letters to his family, friends, and wife lays bare the innermost thoughts and emotions of a young Southerner devoted to securing the Confederacy's independence. It is destined to take a prominent place among the classics of primary Civil War literature."--Gordon C. Rhea, author of In the Footsteps of Grant and Lee