Thundering Courage: George Armstrong Custer, the Union Cavalry Boy Generals, and Justified Defiance at Gettysburg

by Terry C. Pierce

“Promotions or a coffin!” To George Armstrong Custer, war is the Devil’s own fun. And his luck—“Custer luck”—peaks during the Civil War, keeping him alive against all odds. Yet, for the first two years of the war, Custer luck has not earned him a command— until, three days before a brewing battle at Gettysburg, Captain George Custer is promoted to brigadier general. Possessed with raw courage, rare gallantry, and reckless heroism, Custer at age 23 becomes the youngest general in the Union army.

Hugely spirited, tactically flexible, and fiercely ambitious, Custer, on July 3, 1863, trots in front of the First Michigan cavalry regiment, grips his sheathed saber, and pulls. The blade swishes from its metal scabbard with the sleekness of a swooping hawk. “Come on, You Wolverines!” he yells. And the 23-year-old boy general leads one of the greatest cavalry charges in the annals of warfare.

Craving attention, approval, and glory, the boy general with long, flowing, golden locks is an impulsive, fearless daredevil. Commanding the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, Custer is throttled by his vainglorious reporting senior and ridiculed by battle-hardened Wolverines. But the pride that lies in the flesh of all men is thicker in Custer. He loves dancing at the edge of death’s doorstep. And he believes that moral courage means leading from the front—but not always following orders. Because he knows that, between orders and duty, blind obedience and justified defiance hang in the balance.

* * *

Thundering Courage is the riveting story of the Union cavalry’s Second and Third Divisions at Gettysburg, boy generals who face crises of justified defiance, and the unsung hero who wisely keeps a human thunderbolt on a tight, short string. Built firmly upon the annals of history, Thundering Courage journeys through the hearts and minds of Union cavalry heroes who face the agony of choosing between blind obedience and justified defiance at the Battle of Gettysburg.

728 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2023

About the author

Terry C. Pierce is a Captain, USN, retired. He commanded the USS Whidbey Island LSD-41 and was Chief of Staff, Amphibious Force 7th Fleet. He was the speechwriter for Admiral Mike Boorda, Chief of Naval Operations. He retired as the Director of the Center of Innovation at the United States Air Force Academy. He holds doctorate and master's degrees from Harvard. He is the author of Warfighting and Disruptive Technologies: Disguising Innovation (Frank Cass, 2004). He is the author of Without Warning: The Saga of Gettysburg, A Reluctant Union Hero, and the Men He Inspired (Heart Ally Books, June 2020).

Reviews

[Gordon Gidlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical novels are often unjustly maligned, but if properly grounded in research, the format can provide an excellent vehicle for more fully appreciating the past and its decisive actors. In "Thundering Courage," Captain Pierce uses such a responsible fictional method to better explore the interpersonal dynamics of a group of Union officers and men during a critical period of the Civil War. We view the main protagonist, George Armstrong Custer, not only as he imagined himself, as the star of a Broadway play or as emulating the Napoleonic general Murat, but also as others, jealous rivals and suspicious subordinates alike, saw him, in a range of poses, from foolhardy hotspur to respected leader. The overall approach, then, resembles the multi-perspective arrangement of the classic Japanese film "Rashōmon." A prime example of this quality is the episode describing Custer’s near-death experience at the Felty Barn.

And we the readers are informed of the progress of the evolving Battle of Gettysburg from a wide sampling of observers, in fits and starts, just as the participants would have learned of them in the confusion of events, lending a great sense of immediacy to the story. The commonly short chapters also aid in the dramatic pacing.

As befits his background, Captain Pierce is attuned to the social intelligence aspects of command and illustrates this regularly with the mercurial Custer nonetheless demonstrating growing maturity as he leads “his Wolverines.” And one suspects that the tone and possibly verbatim phrases of the various planning and after-action dialogues may be drawn from incidents in his own long career.

[jamesr.dinkel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must Read for Civil War Students

This book is much like the great The Killer Angels.It gives you a new feel for the Calvary actions at Gettysburg. You can gain some new insights into George Custer .

[Patrick J. Baier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful and complete

The maps that are incorporated within the book are simple. Therefore are easy to follow. But the author did like every other author does: That is put the map after it it is useful. To follow the action
.