William Dorsey Pender: Lee's Favorite Brigade Commander

Rating:
Summary: A meticulous, articulate, and valued contribution
Review: General William Dorsey Pender: A Military Biography is a superbly presented contribution to Civil War studies as biographer Edward Longacre relates the life and career of this Confederate officer. William Pender of North Carolina first came to prominence during the Seven Days' Battle when a number of junior Confederate officers took bold action to counter the battlefield errors of some of their better-known superiors. From id-1862 to mid-1863 he commanded a North Carolina brigade and soon came to the attention of General Robert E. Lee as he distinguished himself on a series of battlefields including Seven Pines, Gaines's Mills, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Harpers Ferry, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Pender meet his fate at Gettysburg in July of 1863 when he was felled by a wound that would eventually take his life. General William Dorsey Pender is a meticulous, articulate, and valued contribution to Civil War Studies reading lists and reference collections.