Touched With Fire: Five Presidents And The Civil War Battles That Made Them - Softcover

Perry, James M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586482904 ISBN 13: 9781586482909

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2005

Synopsis

"In our youth our hearts were touched with fire."

So said Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., the future Supreme Court justice, about his fellow veterans of the Civil War. The 1860s were a time much like the 1940s, when a generation of idealistic young Americans answered their country 's call, and many made the supreme sacrifice to preserve freedom and liberty for all. And among the two million "boys in blue " were five soldiers whose wartime heroics would take them into national politics -a ride that would lead, in time, to the White House.

In Touched with Fire, James M. Perry reintroduces us to these five men -Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. "Ruddy" Hayes, James A. "Jamie " Garfield, Benjamin "Little Ben " Harrison, and William "Mack " McKinley -who rose to the pinnacle of American life but are now largely forgotten. Drawing on diaries, letters, and other first-hand accounts, Perry recreates the battles that brought them fame and extols the courage that made them extraordinary leaders, especially under fire. The Civil War was their finest hour, and their stories form a vivid reminder of what a truly great generation can accomplish.

About this title

About the Author

James M. Perry began his journalism career at Leatherneck Magazine, and then worked for thirty-five years covering politics for the National Observer and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of five previous books, most recently A Bohemian Brigade, about the reporters who covered the Civil War, and in 1997 he was awarded the National Press Club's Fourth Estate Award for a distinguished career in journalism.

From Publishers Weekly

This solid, informative group biography examines the five American Presidents who did military service during in the Civil War. The one professional soldier of the lot was Grant, whose wartime career is covered tersely at the book's beginning and end. The other four men-Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley-are scrutinized to a degree not matched by standard Civil War or political histories. All were volunteers; the first three commanded regiments or brigades; McKinley rose from sergeant to brevet major. Garfield was probably the ablest of the lot, exercising an independent command in Kentucky and later serving as chief of staff to Rosecrans at Chickamauga while energetically intriguing against his chief. Hayes was less conspicuous but distinguished himself in the 1864 Shenandoah Campaign; Harrison at least upheld his family name (he was the grandson of William Henry Harrison); and McKinley served as a commissary officer without lining his pockets. If the five were indeed "touched by fire," none of them burned very brightly as President, which is all the more reason for examining the time when they put on blue uniforms. Perry, whose classic The Bohemian Brigade covers Civil War correspondents, knows his territory and his people, and has a readable journalistic style.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1586482904
• ISBN 13: 9781586482909
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352