Fallen Leaders

Some, like Abraham Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson and John Reynolds, have become legendary. Others, like Earl Van Dorn, have become infamous. Some, like Albert Sidney Johnston, James McPherson, and Elmer Ellsworth, have left more questions than answers about unfulfilled potential and lost opportunities. Many—too many—have faded into obscurity.

The Civil War took as many as 720,000 lives—among them, some of the best and brightest military leaders on both sides, from army commanders to beloved regimental commanders. Other leaders fell, grievously wounded, and in doing so changed the course of battles.

Other leaders fell, not from death or wounds, but because of their own missteps or misdeeds. Their reputations never recovered from their falls from grace.

Fallen Leaders: Favorite Stories and Fresh Perspectives from the Historians at Emerging Civil War recounts the fall of some of the most famous, infamous, and under-appreciated commanders from both north and south. This collection of essays brings together the best scholarship from Emerging Civil War’s blog, symposia, and podcast—all of it revised and updated—coupled with original pieces, designed to shed new light and insight on some of the most significant casualties of the war.