P.G.T. Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray

by T. Harry Williams

First published in 1955 to wide acclaim, T. Harry Williams’ P. G. T. Beauregard is universally regarded as “the first authoritative portrait of the Confederacy’s always dramatic, often perplexing” general ( Chicago Tribune ). Chivalric, arrogant, and of exotic Creole Louisiana origin, Beauregard participated in every phase of the Civil War from its beginning to its end. He rigidly adhered to the principles of war derived from his studies of Jomini and Napoleon, and yet many of his battle plans were rejected by his superiors, who regarded him as excitable, unreliable, and contentious. After the war, Beauregard was almost the only prominent Confederate general who adapted successfully to the New South, running railroads and later supervising the notorious Louisiana Lottery. This paradox of a man who fought gallantly to defend the Old South and then helped industrialize it is the fascinating subject of Williams’ superb biography.

Genres: Civil War, History, Biography, American Civil War, Nonfiction, American History, Military History

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

About the author

T. Harry Williams (Thomas Harry Williams) was an historian at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge whose writing career began in 1941 and extended for thirty-eight years until his death in 1979. Williams is perhaps best known for his American Civil War study, Lincoln and His Generals, a "Book of the Month" selection from 1952, and Huey Long, winner of both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in 1970.

Williams passed away approximately two months after retirement due to complications from pneumonia.

In 1998, Williams was posthumously inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.

Reviews

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I could rate it more highly, but Williams to too dry as a writer.

UPDATE: I returned to this one and liked it more. Williams is indeed dry, but I appreciated the book more this time. It is rare to get a honest and fair biography (for examples of hagiography read old Lee biographies or current Grant biographies). So my hat goes to Williams. Also, this is a research miracle. He got some letters from some obscure places and he quoted them all, good and bad, from the Confederacy's most colorful and misunderstood general.

So why four stars? Well, Beauregard's early days are not much covered. Granted, sources are few but Williams could have talked about Creole society. I think that is the key to why many think he was a bad general, although he won most of his battles and campaigns. However, he bragged, he overstated, he was dramatic. As a New Orleans native it makes perfect sense to me. It is part of the culture. It would grate though on historians, who are rarely an interesting lot (trust me I have known too many of them).

Also, the last chapters are good on information, but I found they jumped around far too much and failed to create a narrative. For instance, Beauregard's testy exchanges with fellow generals and Davis also occurred amid the sorrow of his daughter and grand-daughter's death. His flirtation with leaving to lead a foreign army was as much a product of his tumultuous business career as it was Reconstruction.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting biography of the Creole General from Louisiana. His military style was different from Lee's. What an eccentric, charismatic character. This sugar cane plantation owner, engineer, and West Point salutatorian spoke French as a primary language, vexed Jefferson Davis, and was endeared to the ladies of Charleston (as well as his own wife and daughters), even though he was never fully accepted by WASPy or redneck rebel officers. One of the few commanders who prospered after the war, he learned to embrace progressive views, favoring civil rights, including voting rights, for former slaves - a radical idea at the time. He was even offered the command of armies in Egypt and Romania, which he turned down. He treasured remaining with his daughters and granddaughters.

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much information and so dry. I found myself skimming through good portions of this book. There was just too much presented here to make this an engaging or interesting narrative. This biography also straddled the line of hagiography at times. Beauregard seems to mostly be right where others are constantly wrong or standing in his way. The author will criticize Beauregard at times and give credit where it's due, but his praise for Beauregard was overwhelming in this book.

The major problem with this book is just how utterly dry and boring it turned out to be.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

T. Harry Williams P. G T. Beauregard covers the life of one of the more interesting confederate generals during the Civil War. The Creole General or the Napoleon in Gray was a widely regarded celebrity that lives on in the annals of history that include Lee, Johnston, and Davis. Beauregard was never truly in command of independent field but served under and planned key battles for Shiloh, Manassas and the siege of Sumter. From his WestPoint training and experience in the Mexican American War he was ready like many of his contemporaries for command in the Civil War. He was a firm believer in the principles espoused by Jomini and Napoleon regarding concentration although he would often fail to utilize these due to his inability for logistics. Beauregard would be one of the primary commanders for Manassas and Sumter in the east before being transferred to the west under Albert Sidney Johnston to plan Shiloh and establish the base at Cornith, Mississippi.

His disagreements with Jefferson Davis would relegate him to the sidelines preparing the defense of Charleston against siege which he would do admirably well. He was eventually transferred to Petersburg where he would command a defensive line ably against overwhelming odds until being sent back West again after disagreeing with Lee. Jefferson Davis would leave Beauregard without a direct field command in charge of two armies that were already finished. The great master of concentration was not prepared for the new way of war being fought by Sherman and was hopelessly outmatched as was his superior Joe Johnston to prepare for the fight against Sherman. Finally after the surrender of Lee, Beauregard and Johnston would arrange the surrender to Sherman of the last major confederate army in the field while Davis continued his flight.

After the war Beauregard went back to Louisiana, where he was one of the few confederate generals to to make a living, as a railroad engineer and eventually ran the states Lottery system. Overall Williams does an excellent job of telling the story of this flamboyant general. He covers the high points and the low points fairly giving credit that has often been overlooked. Beauregard was rated as a second tier general since he never had a command but he participated in almost all of the major Confederate victories throughout the war and established some of the tightest fortifications that the Union had to overcome. His knowledge helped the confederacy extend its life longer than it would without him. Well worth the time for those who are looking to expand their Civil War knowledge.

[Steven Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was originally published in 1955, so it is somewhat dated. However, this is nonetheless a very nice biography of Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, one of the small handful of "Full Generals" in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

He was a complex, perplexing, and talented person. His pride led him to end up wasting a lot of time (and burning bridges) that accomplished little. For instance, his feud with President Jefferson Davis. He grew up admiring Napoleon (he was Creole, and spoke French for the first part of his life), and often developed battle plans during the Civil War that were Napoleonic in scope--and probably utterly impractical.

The biography does a nice job of laying out his early life and beginning to identify some of the personality traits that would be significant later on. His army career is well detailed, from West Point, to his engineering duties, to his important role in the Mexican War (he was one of a group of young officers, including Robert E. Lee, who were General Winfield Scott's eyes and ears).

Then, his role in the Civil War. The book does a nice job of chronicling some of his major successes--his leadership of the defense of Charleston, his key role in preventing Benjamin Butler and, later, Ulysses Grant from easily taking Petersburg. But there is also his ambiguous legacy from First Manassas (he was the operational commander and deserves credit, but his poorly configured orders, his wild-eyes strategic ideas, etc. raise one's eye brows), to Shiloh (an impractical attack plan), etc.

Thus, there were some great successes (Petersburg and Charleston), some ambiguous successes (First Manassas), a losing battle (Shiloh), and lots of political warfare with his government and other military officials.

His lot after the Civil War? He did well! The book does a nice job of describing his later career.

All in all, despite its age, this is a fair biography of a complex person. It is pretty critical of him at some points, but gives credit where it is obviously due. If interested in this fascinating figure, this is not a bad starting point. . . .

[Anna Stiglbauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't read unless you want exhaustive detail of Beauregard's battlefield maneuvers. Super informative/super dry.

[Joe Vonnegut · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up in Charleston and of course, General Beauregard's name was well known to me given the role he played in the defense of the city. In all my reading of the conflict, I had never read a biography on Beauregard and wanted to know more about the man other than what was covered in the general histories on the conflict. I chose this particular biography as my college history professor studied under T. Harry Williams and used his book, Lincoln and His Generals, in his course entitled "Disunion and the War for Southern Independence." I found this book filled in the basic gaps, but still lacking in some respects. Good start if you're interested in Beauregard and his role in the war, but I intend to look for other, more in depth works.

[Pat Phelps · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed T. Harry William’s book on P.G.T. Beauregard, but must admit that it was disappointing to learn of the constant animosity General Beauregard showed towards his fellow officers in the Confederate Army and the government of the C.S.A., particularly Jefferson Davis. I don’t think there is any doubt there was incompetence in the Army and the government (beginning with Davis) to go around; however, there seemed to be more concern for personal accolades and recognition of individual accomplishments, which lead to constant in-fighting, and less concern for the success of a new country.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the Civil War or any the character himself.

[Ted Greiner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beauregard had a mixed career during the Civil War, a big ego, and fought with Jeff Davis and many others. So a complete and objective rendering of his life has its challenges. I think Williams did a good job. I usually find the parts of biographies of Civil War generals that deal with the lives after the war a bit boring, but this one was fascinating. He was one of the very few on either side that died a wealthy man.

[Edward Branley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is relevant to my research on New Orleans in 1861. Williams does an excellent job painting a portrait of Beauregard. He doesn't rely on or appeal to the "Lost Cause" mythos in doing so.

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after a summer vacation to Corinth Mississippi and the Shiloh battlefields.
I found that even though this book was written in 1955, it is still one of the most comprehensive biographies written about a very human and complex PGT Beauregard out there.
It covers his early childhood raised on his family's sugar cane plantation in St Bernard Parish, Louisiana.
His appointment to West Point
The Mexican American war
The devastating loss of his young wife Marie Laure' Villere' to childbirth.
His appointment as brigadier general in the Confederate army during the Civil War.
The marriage and death of his second wife Caroline Deslonde ( A sister-in-law to senator John Slidell).
His life after the Civil War.
The death of his only daughter in childbirth.
The death of his Granddaughter Lillian.
His death in 1893.

It was the best biography I have read in awhile. I highly recommend it.

5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Craig Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have tried to find biographies of Beauregard and it seems Williams' is the only one available. Other Confederate generals, even the more obscure ones are better represented. Until reading this book I had a much higher idea of what Beauregard did for the Confederacy. Williams seems to give a fair representation of the general's failures in leadership and interpersonal relationships. It is obvious that Beauregard was promoted to full general before he had proven himself on the battlefield. Once holding that rank he was difficult to replace by the civilian leadership.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very informative biography of PGT Beauregard, but also a very dry book.

Other reviews here cover the book very well, so I'll recommend those reviews to you. It's the only book on Beauregard I could find that covered his entire life. If you don't mind dry reading then you will enjoy this book.

Being interested in Beauregard, I was still compelled to finish the book for the thorough biography elements, despite the dry text.

[Kurt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great subject, but I'm not a fan of Williams' writing style or of his picky and constant criticism of G.T. Beauregard. Williams gives away a story in the intro before going in length about it as if he didn't just start with the outcome. And the analysis of General Beauregard gets overly detailed when pointing out short fallings, but lacks details on his greater successes.

[Richard Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book

This biography of P. G. T. Beauregard is very well written with an extensive bibliography of additional reading material. I did not know much about General Beauregard prior to reading this book and I am glad I did.

[Rocky Farr]

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