Ben Mcculloch and the Frontier Military Tradition

by Thomas W. Cutrer

Overview

[A] well-written, comprehensively researched biography.--Publishers Weekly

"Will both edify the scholar while captivating and entertaining the general reader. . . . Cutrer's research is impeccable, his prose vigorous, and his life of McCulloch likely to remain the standard for many years.--Civil War

"A well-crafted work that makes an important contribution to understanding the frontier military tradition and the early stages of the Civil War in the West.--Civil War History

"A penetrating study of a man who was one of the last citizen soldiers to wear a general's stars.--Blue and Gray

"A brisk narrative filled with colorful quotations by and about the central figure. . . . Will become the standard biography of Ben McCulloch.--Journal of Southern History

"A fast-paced, clearly written narrative that does full justice to its heroically oversized subject.--American Historical Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807860946
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	11/09/2000
Series:	Civil War America
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	6 MB

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

[A] well-written, comprehensively researched biography.—Publishers Weekly



Will both edify the scholar while captivating and entertaining the general reader. . . . Cutrer's research is impeccable, his prose vigorous, and his life of McCulloch likely to remain the standard for many years.—Civil War



A well-crafted work that makes an important contribution to understanding the frontier military tradition and the early stages of the Civil War in the West.—Civil War History



A penetrating study of a man who was one of the last citizen soldiers to wear a general's stars.—Blue and Gray



A brisk narrative filled with colorful quotations by and about the central figure. . . . Will become the standard biography of Ben McCulloch.—Journal of Southern History



A fast-paced, clearly written narrative that does full justice to its heroically oversized subject.—American Historical Review

Editorial Reviews

Confederate general Ben McCulloch (1811-1862) is commonly depicted as an amateur out of his depth in a large-scale war. This well-written, comprehensively researched bigraphy, written by an associate professor of American studies at Arizona State University, instead places McCulloch in a distinctively American tradition of citizen commanders. He began as a militia private, but was no mere backwoodsman: self-schooled in the craft of war, McCulloch was as well read as most West Pointers. He was a charismatic combat leader, a first-rate organizer and a Jacksonian Democrat whose common touch inspired raw volunteers. Cutrer ( Parnassus on the Mississippi: ``The Southern Review'' and the Baton Rouge Literary Community, 1934-1942 ) makes a strong case that McCulloch was underutilized by Jefferson Davis and would have adapted to the conditions of the Civil War as effectively as he did to earlier conflicts in Texas and Mexico. (June)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

The first volume in a new series, this biography of Ben McCulloch (1811-62) tells of his extraordinary career as a frontiersman, entrepreneur, and soldier. His highest military ambitions were thwarted by the emerging professional military establishment--until his commission as general came from Jefferson Davis--and this study highlights the tension between military professionalism and the tradition of volunteer citizen-soldiers. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

McCulloch was a Tennessee-born Texas frontiersman and gifted amateur soldier whose career ran from the war of Texan independence in the 1830s to his death as a Confederate general in 1862. There are not many studies, or at least not many recent ones, of the amateur soldiers of McCulloch's generation, and Cutrer has done an excellent job. He tells how amateur soldiers could be fully competent at many kinds of warfare yet lose ground during the 1850s to the emerging West Point graduates. Unlike many current historians seeking the cultural matrix for their subject, he is also familiar with what goes on in a battle and has accordingly written very serviceable straight military history. Recommended for larger frontier and Civil War history collections.

Roland Green

[A] well-written, comprehensively researched biography.

Publishers Weekly

Cutrer's research is impeccable, his prose vigorous, and his life of McCulloch likely to remain the standard for many years.

Civil War

Makes an important contribution to understanding the frontier military tradition and the early stages of the Civil War in the West.

Civil War History

A penetrating study of a man who was one of the last citizen soldiers to wear a general's stars.

Blue and Gray

Will become the standard biography of Ben McCulloch.

Journal of Southern History

From the Publisher