William Barksdale, CSA: A Biography of the United States Congressman and Confederate Brigadier General

by John Douglas Ashton

Overview

An aggressive and colorful personality, William Barksdale was no stranger to controversy. Orphaned at 13, he succeeded as lawyer, newspaper editor, Mexican War veteran, politician and Confederate commander. During eight years in the U.S. Congress, he was among the South's most ardent defenders of slavery and advocates for states' rights. His emotional speeches and altercations—including a brawl on the House floor—made headlines in the years preceding secession.

His fiery temper prompted three near-duels, gaining him a reputation as a brawler and knife-fighter. Arrested for intoxication, Colonel Barksdale survived a military Court of Inquiry to become one of the most beloved commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia. His reputation soared with his defense against the Union river crossing and street-fighting at Fredericksburg, and his legendary charge at Gettysburg. This first full-length biography places his life and career in historical context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476683744
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	03/19/2021
Pages:	307
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

John Douglas Ashton is a retired materials testing executive, distinguished metallurgist, and lifelong student of the Civil War. A founding member and later Chairman of the Southern Ontario Civil War Roundtable, he has traveled to all of the major battlefields where Barksdale's Mississippians fought to gain further insights.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Preface 1

Introduction 3

Prologue: Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, 7:30 p.m., West of Plum Run Swale 6

1 Beginnings 7

2 Mississippi: Land of Opportunity 11

3 Military Service in Mexico: Disease, Deprivation and Death 18

4 Barksdale Secures His Political Future 31

5 Turbulent Times in Washington City 41

6 Epithets, Fisticuffs and the Downward Spiral to Secession 56

7 From Quartermaster General to a Combat Command at First Manassas 74

8 Charges of Drunkenness, Redemption at Edwards Ferry and a Court Of Inquiry 89

9 The Seven Days Battles: Barksdale Commands the Mississippi Brigade 104

10 Malvern Hill: Barksdale Exhibits the Highest Qualities of the Soldier 118

11 Harpers Ferry and Sharpsburg: Brigadier General Barksdale Front and Center 131

12 Fredericksburg: Dead Yankees on the Pontoon Bridges and in the Streets 149

13 Second Fredericksburg (Chancellorsville): "We must make the fight whether we hold it or are whipped" 177

14 Gettysburg: A Grim Determination to Do or Die 203

15 Barksdale's Death, Burials, State Funeral and Legacy 236

Appendix: Previously Unpublished/Published Material Concerning William Barksdale 257

Chapter Notes 259

Bibliography 285

Index 293

Editorial Reviews

To generations of Civil War historians, the name William Barksdale conjures up images of his Mississippi brigade’s smashing attack against Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard on July 2, 1863. In William Barksdale, CSA, author Doug Ashton gives readers the most deeply researched biography ever written on this controversial Confederate general. From Barksdale’s beginnings in Tennessee through the combative halls of pre-Civil War Congress and to his final battle in Pennsylvania, Ashton provides greater context to the exaggerated image of Barksdale as only a fire-eating secessionist. In examining Barksdale’s successes and failures, readers will gain a much better understanding of the general’s fiery personality and the equally tumultuous times in which he lived.”—James A. Hessler, Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide and award winning author of Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard

From the Publisher