Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan... by James Harvey Kidd

Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer

This is a good book and enjoyable to read, but the author was writing for an audience that had a living memory of the Civil War.

This new edition of a timeless classic includes a rare photo insert, as well as an insightful introduction by Paul Andrew Hutton that places Kidd’s work in its historical perspective. Kidd provides enriching details about encounters with JEB Stuart’s cavalry, Gettysburg, his admiration for Custer and other generals he knew, such as Sheridan and Grant. Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer’s Michigan Cavalry Brigade in the Civil War has been hailed as one of the richest, most reliable accounts of Union cavalry operations in the Eastern theater of the Civil War, ranging from the raid on Richmond to Appomattox. Kidd’s letters have been combined into this historical memoir, which tell a moving story of wartime service and shed a light onto the gallant and often brash Custer. Kidd wrote a series of letters to friends and family back home between 18, chronicling the conditions and experiences of life in the field of battle. The men were affectionately called “Custer’s Wolverines” and among them was James Kidd, a newspaperman by training. Chiefly known for his exploits in the Indian Wars, most significantly for his horrific defeat at the Little Bighorn in 1876, George Armstrong Custer found initial success on the battlefields of the Civil War, leading his Michigan Cavalry Brigade in more than sixty battles and skirmishes.

Personal Recollections of a Cavalryman with Custer's Michigan... by James Harvey Kidd