The Second North Carolina Cavalry fought its first major battle in its home state at New Bern on March 14; 1862; and narrowly escaped with its men and reputation intact. The regiment was nearly decimated in the Gettysburg Campaign; but was rebuilt and later fought with Robert E. Lee's cavalry in most major battles; including Appomattox Court House on April 9; 1865; with only a handful of men. This history covers not only the Second North Carolina Cavalry's accomplishments and failures; but the events going on around them which influenced their actions and performance. The author pays particular attention to the Second North Carolina's involvement with the Army of Northern Virginia and the North Carolina Cavalry Brigade; and includes official documents; letters written to and from home; diaries and memoirs to present the soldiers' war experiences.
#2004502 in Books McFarland 2010-04-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x .60 x 5.90l; .75 #File Name: 0786448180254 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent. Splendid researchBy Richard L. PangburnExcellent. Splendid research; remarkably well told.The author modestly admits that this is simply the first biography of this interesting man and thus hardly definitive. A close examination of the many court cases the Rousseau brothers were involved in would yield additional flavor to his story; including that of the Paschal Craddock murder case in which James Speed; later Lincoln's Attorney General; and many other men later to figure in the Civil War were involved either as lawyers or as character witnesses: General William Preston; General John Cabell Breckinridge; and General Roger Hanson among them.Also; Dan Lee says in his text that he spent considerable time looking for factual verification of a duel in which Lovell Rousseau was alleged to have been involved. The author says he couldn't find it and that he now considers it to be a rumor and a fabrication. Well; inasmuch as the author did some research at the Filson Club in Louisville; I might have been one source for his this. But it was no fabrication; but fact. It was an impromptu gunfight between Lovell Rousseau and Dr. Elisha D. Standeford; destined to become one of the richest men in Louisville and who lent his name to the airport; Standiford Field. Standiford shot Rousseau who then got the drop on his adversary and could have killed him but relented. The story was covered by one of the Louisville newspapers during the election of August 3; 1858; and it can be seen on microfilm at the main Louisville Public Library.Rousseau was a reader of books and I was amused to read of the incident in General John Beatty's Civil War diary where Rousseau was particularly caught up in reading Victor Hugo's recently published LES MISERABLES. I also enjoyed Alden R. Carter's BRIGHT STARRY BANNER; a highly factual Civil War novel of the Stone River battle in which General Rousseau plays a part.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Life Story of an Uncelebrated American HeroBy P.L. StevensonReaders who enjoyed Dan Lee's second and better known book; "The LN Railroad in the Civil War;" should go back and read his first one; "Kentuckian in Blue: A Biography of Major General Lovell Harrison Rousseau." Many Kentuckians wore the blue; but it is doubtful that any other lived as full a life as Rousseau. He was a self-educated lawyer; a legislator in two different states; a Mexican War veteran; a U.S. Representative; a bold and brave Union officer in the Civil War; and the specially assigned State Department representative who accepted the transfer of Alaska from Russia. He also commanded the Dept. of Louisiana during Reconstruction. All this before his untimely death at age 50. As Lee says; Rousseau was an "uncelebrated American hero." It is naturally Rousseau's Civil War career that will be of most interest; but there are other fascinating episodes. He represented black defendants in a Louisville; Ky. courtroom in the 1850s; a time when blacks were routinely lynched without benefit of trial. He helped put down a murderous Know-Nothing riot in Louisville in the same decade. After the war; when a U.S. Congressman; Rousseau beat with a cane Josiah B. Grinnell; a fellow Representative who had insulted him. The funniest scene in the book; taken from testimony recorded in the "Congressional Globe;" is Rousseau lecturing Grinnell as he thrashed him: "Now look at yourself; whipped here; whipped like a dog; disgraced and degraded. Where are your 127;000 constituents now?" "Kentuckian in Blue" is based on official government records and Rousseau's few existing papers; as well as a long list of secondary sources. The price has been recently reduced from McFarland's original (and typically too high) price; making it very affordable. The most serious criticism of this reviewer is that the book might have included more maps and pictures. "Kentuckian in Blue" is a solid first effort on Lee's part and readers who spend a few hours learning about the life of Lovell Harrison Rousseau will come away informed as well as entertained. Four stars.
