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Lions of the Dan: The Untold Story of Armistead's Brigade
Lions of the Dan: The Untold Story of Armistead's Brigade chronicles those men of Pickett's Charge over the full course of the Civil War.
While time-honored celebrations of Armistead and Pickett focus narrowly on moments at Gettysburg, primary sources declare the untold story of the best of men in the worst of times and refute Lost Cause myths surrounding Armistead and Pickett. Written by retired scientist J.K. Brandau, for the first time, Lions of the Dan widens the aperture to introduce real heroes and amazing deeds that have been suppressed until now.
Brandau presents the experiences of real soldiers in their own words and highlights the much-ignored history of Southside Virginia, presenting the Civil War start to finish from a unique, regional perspective. Readers find pedestrian notions of the founding of the South's peculiar institution challenged as they read an objective account of Virginia's secession and celebrate the courage and devotion of soldiers on both sides.
While time-honored celebrations of Armistead and Pickett focus narrowly on moments at Gettysburg, primary sources declare the untold story of the best of men in the worst of times and refute Lost Cause myths surrounding Armistead and Pickett. Written by retired scientist J.K. Brandau, for the first time, Lions of the Dan widens the aperture to introduce real heroes and amazing deeds that have been suppressed until now.
Brandau presents the experiences of real soldiers in their own words and highlights the much-ignored history of Southside Virginia, presenting the Civil War start to finish from a unique, regional perspective. Readers find pedestrian notions of the founding of the South's peculiar institution challenged as they read an objective account of Virginia's secession and celebrate the courage and devotion of soldiers on both sides.
296 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2019
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About the author
J.K. Brandau
2 books2 followersJ. K. Brandau was born in Richmond, Virginia and grew up on the city's Southside. He holds a B.S. degree in Chemistry from Old Dominion University and retired as lead chemist from Newport News Shipbuilding.
Life in Virginia feeds fascination with history.
His books share amazing discoveries!
Life in Virginia feeds fascination with history.
His books share amazing discoveries!
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 27, 2019
Tales of Armistead and the Virginia 38th
Taken from a wide variety of sources, such as journals, word of mouth such as been written down and a trickle of tidbits here and there until the author decided that it was time to put this book all together. Of course more trickles of valuable data may come, but after reading this book, I can say with confidence that more data will not change this book much.
The narrative is from the side of the rebels or CSA. The book does some pretty deep dives of CSA troops, and their daily life in Virginia, how they waged war, their victories and their defeats. Ken introduces us to the leaders, their background and a pretty comprehensive look at their family ties and relations. We can spy on the leaders, learn how they think, their demonstrated weakness' and strengths, character, disappointments, and actions during several of the campaigns, all extracted from journals, letters and notes.
Ken describes camp life or 'garrison' life in times of plenty as well as times when no resupply was available. Winters for the soldiers came both with and without shelter and warm clothing. Time was spent building cabins to shelter them from extreme cold and wind. The springs and summers brought their own misery, in the form of heat, humidity, dust and later mud from what seemed like endless rain. The book describes the rhythm of Armistead and the 38th along with some 'sister' brigades'.
I was aware of most of the battles described, but of others, I had no real knowledge. Battles that were lost due to fatal mistakes and battles that were won due to other mistakes. I think, especially if you are a student of history and a student of the civil war, that Ken's comprehensive look at the 38th and Armistead will give you a better understanding of the soldier's life, the slowness of that life between engagements, the battles and the cost of the whole. Ken is a gifted writer and I highly recommend this book as a great stop among the wealth of writings found about our civil war.
Taken from a wide variety of sources, such as journals, word of mouth such as been written down and a trickle of tidbits here and there until the author decided that it was time to put this book all together. Of course more trickles of valuable data may come, but after reading this book, I can say with confidence that more data will not change this book much.
The narrative is from the side of the rebels or CSA. The book does some pretty deep dives of CSA troops, and their daily life in Virginia, how they waged war, their victories and their defeats. Ken introduces us to the leaders, their background and a pretty comprehensive look at their family ties and relations. We can spy on the leaders, learn how they think, their demonstrated weakness' and strengths, character, disappointments, and actions during several of the campaigns, all extracted from journals, letters and notes.
Ken describes camp life or 'garrison' life in times of plenty as well as times when no resupply was available. Winters for the soldiers came both with and without shelter and warm clothing. Time was spent building cabins to shelter them from extreme cold and wind. The springs and summers brought their own misery, in the form of heat, humidity, dust and later mud from what seemed like endless rain. The book describes the rhythm of Armistead and the 38th along with some 'sister' brigades'.
I was aware of most of the battles described, but of others, I had no real knowledge. Battles that were lost due to fatal mistakes and battles that were won due to other mistakes. I think, especially if you are a student of history and a student of the civil war, that Ken's comprehensive look at the 38th and Armistead will give you a better understanding of the soldier's life, the slowness of that life between engagements, the battles and the cost of the whole. Ken is a gifted writer and I highly recommend this book as a great stop among the wealth of writings found about our civil war.
August 2, 2020
Avid fans of the American Civil War, and non-fiction fans in particular, will thoroughly enjoy J.K. Brandau's expert portrait of the compelling story of Armistead's brigade (of Pickett's Charge fame.) I'm no Civil War virgin, having studied the war for 25 years myself and written my own novel on the subject. But I would heartily endorse Ken Brandau as the quintessential subject matter expert on Lewis Armistead and his famed brigade. Although I generally prefer to share my appreciation for history through storytelling (particularly through the eyes of a fictional original character who represents the subject matter), I found Lions of the Dan to be among the most compelling and well-researched nonfiction accounts I have ever had the privilege of reading. I especially enjoyed the final chapter and epilogue, and was sorely tempted to quote from them here, but I will restrain myself and recommend that you read the book for yourself.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews