Description
Book Synopsis An aggressive and colorful personality, William Barksdale was no stranger to controversy. Orphaned at 13, he succeeded as lawyer, newspaper editor, Mexican War veteran, politician and Confederate commander. During eight years in the U.S. Congress, he was among the South''s most ardent defenders of slavery and advocates for states'' rights. His emotional speeches and altercations--including a brawl on the House floor--made headlines in the years preceding secession.
His fiery temper prompted three near-duels, gaining him a reputation as a brawler and knife-fighter. Arrested for intoxication, Colonel Barksdale survived a military Court of Inquiry to become one of the most beloved commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia. His reputation soared with his defense against the Union river crossing and street-fighting at Fredericksburg, and his legendary charge at Gettysburg. This first full-length biography places his life and career in historical context.
Trade ReviewTo generations of Civil War historians, the name William Barksdale conjures up images of his Mississippi brigade's smashing attack against Gettysburg's Peach Orchard on July 2, 1863. In
William Barksdale, CSA, author Doug Ashton gives readers the most deeply researched biography ever written on this controversial Confederate general. From Barksdale's beginnings in Tennessee through the combative halls of pre-Civil War Congress and to his final battle in Pennsylvania, Ashton provides greater context to the exaggerated image of Barksdale as only a fire-eating secessionist. In examining Barksdale's successes and failures, readers will gain a much better understanding of the general's fiery personality and the equally tumultuous times in which he lived." —James A. Hessler, Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide and award winning author of
Gettysburg's Peach Orchard"'Barksdale!' His surname alone stirs emotions of valor and memorable sacrifice! Mississippi's General William Barksdale was one of the Confederacy's most heroic warrior-commanders. Looking over the heads of his gathered regiments at Gettysburg he called out sharply, 'Attention, Mississippi Battalions! Forward!' and charged forever into the pages of history! Long-overdue, Doug Ashton, an impartial chronicler breathes life into Barksdale from birth until his untimely death on the battlefield. Read and understand the substance of a noteworthy life during a noteworthy time!" —H. Grady Howell, Historian Emeritus, Mississippi Department of Archives and History
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
Prologue: Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, 7:30 p.m., West of Plum Run Swale
One—Beginnings
Two—Mississippi: Land of Opportunity
Three—Military Service in Mexico: Disease, Deprivation and Death
Four—Barksdale Secures His Political Future
Five—Turbulent Times in Washington City
Six—Epithets, Fisticuffs and the Downward Spiral to Secession
Seven—From Quartermaster General to a Combat Command at First Manassas
Eight—Charges of Drunkenness, Redemption at Edwards Ferry and a Court of Inquiry
Nine—The Seven Days Battles: Barksdale Commands the Mississippi Brigade
Ten—Malvern Hill: Barksdale Exhibits the Highest Qualities of the Soldier
Eleven—Harpers Ferry and Sharpsburg: Brigadier General Barksdale Front and Center
Twelve—Fredericksburg: Dead Yankees on the Pontoon Bridges and in the Streets
Thirteen—Second Fredericksburg (Chancellorsville): "We must make the fight whether we hold it or are whipped"
Fourteen—Gettysburg: A Grim Determination to Do or Die
Fifteen—Barksdale's Death, Burials, State Funeral and Legacy
Appendix: Previously Unpublished/Published Material Concerning William Barksdale
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
