W.W. Loring: Florida's Forgotten General

Confederate General William Wing Loring had been soldiering since he was 14 -- for the Republic first and then for the Confederacy. But "even his enemies bore him tribute: a man of unflinching honor and integrity'. . . ." As part of the Army of the Republic, he had led a regiment, with 600 mule teams, some 2,500 miles across the mountains to Oregon, "without losing a man." Years and a generation later, this was called "the greatest military feat on record."

Loring began his career in Seminole wars in Florida at a time when most young men attended West Point. Later he studied law, and when Florida became a state he was in the state Legislature. When the Mexican War began, 27-year old Loring abandoned law and politics forever. He became a captain, a major, a lieutenant colonel. At Mexico City he led an assault on Belen Gate and lost his left arm. "Thereafter his empty sleeve bore its eloquent testimony to his courage and gallantry."

Loring left few personal letters to rely on for information about his life. He did not keep a diary and died before he could write his memoirs.

Author James W. Raab had to become a literary detective. After six years of research, Raab sets the record straight about "Old Blizzards."

William Wing Loring, a career soldier, left few personal letters to rely on for information about his life. He did not keep a diary, and he died before he could write his memoirs. Studying him from a perspective of over 100 years, I had to become a literary detective, finding documentation of the events in which he participated, chasing down clues, and ferreting out enough details to clothe him with sufficient flesh to make a story and convince the reader that my subject was, after all, worthy of attention.

The historical significance of W. W. Loring was elusive at times. Viewed from different angles, at different times, for different purposes, by different people, the well-established facts sometimes took on different meanings, compelling me to dig deeper.

My investigation's purpose was to elicit the truth. I began separating myth from reality, reexamining Loring's 50-year military career and eliminating incorrect statements that deliberately manipulated his Civil War record. I became determined to set the record straight and publish the story of "Old Blizzards."

After six years of research, I can now tell Loring's life story, which, when revealed, places him equally alongside the many famous historical personalities that make up the 425-year history of St. Augustine, Florida.