Whether one things of him as dashing cavalier or shameless horse thief; it is impossible not to regard John Hunt Morgan as a fascinating figure of the Civil War. He collected his Raiders at first from the prominent families of Kentucky; though later the exploits of the group were to attract a less elite class of recruits. Morgan was able to lead these men into the most dangerous adventures by convincing them that the honor of the South was at stake; yet he did not always succeed in appealing to that sense of honor when temptations of easy theft drew the Raiders from military objectives to wanton pillage.In John Hunt Morgan and his Raiders; Edison H. Thomas gives us a balanced view of these controversial men and their raids. In a fast-paced narrative he follows the cavalry unit for the evening the first group set out from Lexington to join the Confederate forces until the morning of Morgan's death in Greeneville; Tennessee. Basil Duke; St. Leger Grenfell; Lightning Ellsworth; and the beautiful Martha Ready all receive their due; and the truly remarkable story of the Raiders' newspaper is told.A special contribution is the insight this account offers into the disruption of rail communications carried out with such enthusiasm by Morgan and his men. Thomas' study of the railroad records of the period has enabled him to present this part of the Raiders' story with rare detail and understanding.
#2349617 in Books University Press of Florida 2010-11-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .61 x 5.98l; .89 #File Name: 0813035678272 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An excellent birds eye view of the situationBy R. DeesThis book gives a good over view of the situation as to what happened in Saint Domingue; and also what happened to the various people groups that migrated to New Orleans. It also gives a good feel for how those from Saint Domingue ; both "free people of color" and former slaves who also chose to leave.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Four StarsBy Warren E DuclosExcellent overview of the topics; events; and important players; by one of the experts in this field.9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Academic but very readable cultural historyBy Michael K. SmithSt.-Domingue is better known outside of Louisiana research as the western end of Santo Domingo; the island now divided between Haiti; with its French roots; and the Dominican Republic; which is Spanish in origin. Dessens is a French academic; however; specializing in American Studies; and she has a different take on the influence in Louisiana of the white sugar planters and merchants who fled St.-Domingue after the successful slave revolution that began in 1791. They settled all over the lower Mississippi Valley; but especially in New Orleans; and they had a considerable effect on the perspective of French-speaking creoles in the region; reinforcing and strengthening existing French culture. Planter society in St.-Domingue was; not surprisingly; heavily interbred; so many of the refugees were related to each other; which encouraged them to cultivate a group consciousness; resist assimilation; and maintain a separate identity as far as possible -- especially against the very different American political and cultural presence that arrived in force after 1803. Most of the Old South may have been monolithic in its upper strata; but not New Orleans or the surrounding region. Dessens examines in considerable detail the intricate interweavings of white; free black; and enslaved back Haitians and suggests several new approaches to the study of communities and how they form; and especially to "exceptionalism" in Louisiana's social history. This is a thoroughly academic study (the footnotes take up twenty percent of the book); but also very readable; and it adds considerably to the relatively small body of research available to local historians and genealogists.
