A Politician Goes to War by William A Blair

A Politician Goes to War by William A Blair

This last known work of noted historian Bell Irvin Wiley reveals the private mind of John White Geary, a Union general from Pennsylvania, through his Civil War letters to his wife, Mary. Wiley had selected these roughly 200 letters for publication, but the unfinished manuscript lay undiscovered for twelve years after the historian's death. The letters provide a rare glimpse of the two main theaters of war through the eyes of a general officer. Geary saw action at Cedar Mountain and Gettysburg in the Virginia theater and in the major campaigns in the west—from lifting the siege at Chattanooga to marching with William T. Sherman through Georgia and the Carolinas. The fascination Geary's letters held for Wiley, the quintessential scholar of the common person, is clear: the letters of an uncommon man reveal ordinary concerns about children, money, home, and religion that linked Geary to many on both sides of the war. Geary's letters also show another side of the officer, that of the consummate politician who knew that military service provided capital for future political campaigns. Through intense self-promotion, he had fashioned a reputation that served him well in gaining respected political posts both before and after the war: he fought in the Mexican War and served as the first mayor of San Francisco and as territorial governor of Kansas during the period known as "Bloody Kansas," in addition to winning two terms as governor of Pennsylvania after the war. Ultimately, the letters of John White Geary show how a political general plied his trade. They reveal the complexities of any historical figure, for Geary had both the admirable qualities of loyalty to the Union and the less attractive need to exaggerate his abilities to enhance his career.

“The letters of John White Geary constitute a significant addition to the printed primary literature on the Civil WarAnyone interested in the high command of the Army of the Potomac, Sherman’s March to the Sea and campaigns through the Carolinas, or politicians in Union military service will turn to these letters with profit.”

—Gary W. Gallagher

William Alan Blair is an Assistant Professor of U.S. History at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Bell Irvin Wiley's classic books include The Life of Billy Yank and The Life of Johnny Reb.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780271026183
ISBN 10	0271026189
Title	A Politician Goes to War
Author	William A Blair
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Pennsylvania State University Press
Year published	1995-04-15
Number of pages	288
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.