John Brown Gordon: Soldier, Southerner, American

by Ralph Lowell Eckert

John Brown Gordon's career of prominent public service spanned four of America's most turbulent decades. Born in Upson County, Georgia, in 1832, Gordon was a successful businessman when, in 1861, he responded to the Confederate call to arms by raising a company of volunteers. His subsequent rise from captain to corps commander was unmatched in the Army of Northern Virginia. He emerged from the Civil War as one of the South's most respected generals. After the war, Gordon entered politics. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1873 and in the 1880s served as governor of Georgia, establishing himself as a staunch spokesman for his state and for the South as a whole. In addition to safeguarding and promoting southern interests, Gordon strove to replace sectional antagonisms with a commitment to building a stronger, more united nation. His efforts throughout his post war career contributed significantly to the process of national reconciliation. He devoted his final years to writing his memoirs, Reminiscences of the Civil War. Ralph Lowell Eckert's critical biography takes the full measure of Gordon's eventful life. Utilizing newspapers, scattered manuscript collections, and official records, Eckert offers a masterly account of this citizen-soldier of the Civil War era.

Genres: Civil War, Biography, History

367 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1989

Reviews

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book a many years ago, before I joined Goodreads. This was one of the first biographies I picked up when I began my journey reading about the Civil War.

I found this book to be very good, as expected it was a bit dry, but the writing was very good and the subject was very interesting during and after the Civil War. There are still stories I remember about General Gordon from this book many years later.

Now, that I've read many other biographies, I can comparatively say that this is not the driest biography out there. This is better than you'd expect if you expected a typical dry biography.

[Sean Chick · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well researched but dry account lacking in opinions, all of which is odd given the subject matter. Gordon was a superb general. He was aggressive, brave, and creative. Yet, his life is one that would draw few applause today. He was a fire-eater, Klansmen, and crony-capitalist. Although he sought reunion, he was also a Lost Cause supporter who shamelessly vilified Longstreet. The later point is not mentioned at all, a real hole in the book.