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Kill-Cavalry: The Life of Union General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick
24 b/w photos 38 maps 6 x 9
* First full-length biography of the controversial Union cavalryman
* Comprehensive, well-balanced treatment of the infamous Dahlgren Affair, the plot to assassinate Jefferson Davis Nicknamed "Kill-Cavalry" because of the unusually high casualty rate among his men, cavalry commander Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was also the most notorious scoundrel in the Union army. Kilpatrick lied, thieved, and whored his way through the Civil War, yet managed to attain the stars of a major general. But despite his faults-or perhaps because of them-he is a fascinating character. This exceptionally well-researched biography (all the more remarkable given that Kilpatrick's daughter destroyed all her father's papers after his death) profiles one of the most interesting soldiers to ever wear Union blue. Samuel J. Martin has published several articles in Civil War Times Illustrated, The Kepi, and Virginia Country, and is the author of Road to The Life of Confederate General Richard S. Ewell. This is his second book.
* First full-length biography of the controversial Union cavalryman
* Comprehensive, well-balanced treatment of the infamous Dahlgren Affair, the plot to assassinate Jefferson Davis Nicknamed "Kill-Cavalry" because of the unusually high casualty rate among his men, cavalry commander Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was also the most notorious scoundrel in the Union army. Kilpatrick lied, thieved, and whored his way through the Civil War, yet managed to attain the stars of a major general. But despite his faults-or perhaps because of them-he is a fascinating character. This exceptionally well-researched biography (all the more remarkable given that Kilpatrick's daughter destroyed all her father's papers after his death) profiles one of the most interesting soldiers to ever wear Union blue. Samuel J. Martin has published several articles in Civil War Times Illustrated, The Kepi, and Virginia Country, and is the author of Road to The Life of Confederate General Richard S. Ewell. This is his second book.
325 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 17, 2014
Every so often you read a book that involves you so much that you wish you could affect the ending in some way, even though you already know the outcome. This was such a book: even though I knew That General Judson Kilpatrick survived the war, he was such an odious individual that I kept hoping he would catch a minie ball in the nackers or contract some loathsome disease from the whores he frequented. If this officer was typical of Union soldiery, it is amazing that the ranks of the Confederacy were not swelled by recruits wanting to get a shot at him.
I am always skeptical of written accounts accusing officers of cowardice. They are required to make instant decisions based on scant information; if they fail to press home an attack it is as likely to be the result of poor intelligence rather than a lack of courage. The Civil War was probably the last conflict in which general officers put themselves in any amount of danger by actually engaging the enemy in physical combat, so if Kilpatrick held back a bit on occasion, I don't necessary swallow the cowardice allegation made by the author, but that is as much lenience as I'm willing to concede.
The list of Kilpatrick's shortcomings is lengthy and varied. He was an egotistical womanizing bully, a thief, a fraud, a probable murderer and, as Martin suggests, quite possibly a coward. His treatment of people of other races was abominable: troops under his command hanged a black man who guided them to a river that was in flood, and Kilpatrick's cavalry evicted a black regiment from their bivouac in a midnight attack, appropriating their tents and leaving the African-American soldiers with no protection from the elements. Another soldier under his command sabred a black sentry who had challenged him. And these were black Union troops, supposedly their allies!
Before reading this book I had never heard of an officer being overrun by the enemy while cavorting with a whore in his nightshirt, but this happened to Kilpatrick on at least two occasions, The last time it happened he avoided capture by pointing out one of his fleeing underlings as being the commanding officer. While the Rebs pursued the luckless Yank, Kilpatrick made his escape. His entire career was like this: just when it looked like he was slipping in shit, something would come along to provide him with a way out.
On Kilpatrick's orders men burned entire villages, stole and slaughtered civilians' livestock and looted household items. Some of his men were actually apprehended and tied to trees by other Union soldiers as a disgraceful example to others. Kilpatrick's forces (with Sherman's approval) quartered stock in one church, and used another church for a slaughterhouse. Kilpatrick personally went to cut the gold buttons from a black butler's tunic, but desisted when he was told they were brass...he wanted to stick to the gold standard. In fact, his behavior was so despicable his daughter burned his papers after his death, presumably to keep the world from learning just what a jerk her old man was.
Martin's book is not a difficult read at all. It is simple and clearly written and employs the rare device of a summary paragraph at the end of most chapters to cover the salient points that had been covered; similar to a textbook, but not as dry. I had trouble putting this one down.
I am always skeptical of written accounts accusing officers of cowardice. They are required to make instant decisions based on scant information; if they fail to press home an attack it is as likely to be the result of poor intelligence rather than a lack of courage. The Civil War was probably the last conflict in which general officers put themselves in any amount of danger by actually engaging the enemy in physical combat, so if Kilpatrick held back a bit on occasion, I don't necessary swallow the cowardice allegation made by the author, but that is as much lenience as I'm willing to concede.
The list of Kilpatrick's shortcomings is lengthy and varied. He was an egotistical womanizing bully, a thief, a fraud, a probable murderer and, as Martin suggests, quite possibly a coward. His treatment of people of other races was abominable: troops under his command hanged a black man who guided them to a river that was in flood, and Kilpatrick's cavalry evicted a black regiment from their bivouac in a midnight attack, appropriating their tents and leaving the African-American soldiers with no protection from the elements. Another soldier under his command sabred a black sentry who had challenged him. And these were black Union troops, supposedly their allies!
Before reading this book I had never heard of an officer being overrun by the enemy while cavorting with a whore in his nightshirt, but this happened to Kilpatrick on at least two occasions, The last time it happened he avoided capture by pointing out one of his fleeing underlings as being the commanding officer. While the Rebs pursued the luckless Yank, Kilpatrick made his escape. His entire career was like this: just when it looked like he was slipping in shit, something would come along to provide him with a way out.
On Kilpatrick's orders men burned entire villages, stole and slaughtered civilians' livestock and looted household items. Some of his men were actually apprehended and tied to trees by other Union soldiers as a disgraceful example to others. Kilpatrick's forces (with Sherman's approval) quartered stock in one church, and used another church for a slaughterhouse. Kilpatrick personally went to cut the gold buttons from a black butler's tunic, but desisted when he was told they were brass...he wanted to stick to the gold standard. In fact, his behavior was so despicable his daughter burned his papers after his death, presumably to keep the world from learning just what a jerk her old man was.
Martin's book is not a difficult read at all. It is simple and clearly written and employs the rare device of a summary paragraph at the end of most chapters to cover the salient points that had been covered; similar to a textbook, but not as dry. I had trouble putting this one down.
December 22, 2023
A well-written, enjoyable, and interesting read.
But...
Biographers are sometimes guilty of tilting toward hagiography. In this case, the author seems to me to be predisposed to malign his subject. While certainly the general's life and career provide adequate ammunition for a biographer intent on assailing his character and competence (although much more the former than the latter), more balance and detachment would have made this a better book.
But...
Biographers are sometimes guilty of tilting toward hagiography. In this case, the author seems to me to be predisposed to malign his subject. While certainly the general's life and career provide adequate ammunition for a biographer intent on assailing his character and competence (although much more the former than the latter), more balance and detachment would have made this a better book.
December 16, 2015
Fascinating research.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews