This long overdue, full-length biography of John Gibbon tells about one of the Civil War's best combat leaders. This readable account describes how a distinguished general served in all the major campaigns of the Civil War and later against the Indians on the Western frontier. This story of a lifetime of military service describes life in the army and in America between 1841 and 1896 and is enriched by extensive research into family records and a broad array of original sources.

One of the most important figures of the American Civil War penned this fascinating and unique memoir. John Gibbon's recollections of his service at Gettysburg and other great battles is frank and personal. This is not an overview of great battles but a soldier's account of the trials and triumphs of four years of horrific conflict. Gibbon wrote plainly about the great men with whom he served, some of whom he greatly admired and some who were difficult. Here are anecdotes of Lincoln, Grant, Meade, Hancock, Hooker, Pope, and many others that you won't read anywhere else. Gibbon was a central figure at Gettysburg, with Pickett's Charge aimed right at the forces he commanded. Wounded on the third day of the battle, he supplemented his memoir with portions of the outstanding narrative of that day by his aide, Lieutenant Frank Haskell. Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever.

General John Gibbon was a central figure in two of America's most famous battles. At Gettysburg in 1863, Pickett's Charge was aimed right at Gibbon's troops. In 1876, Gibbon commanded the Montana Column that was to unite with George Armstrong Custer and the 7th Cavalry at the Little Bighorn. Gibbon's arrival with General Terry is what saved the survivors of that disaster. Here in his own words are Gibbon's masterful narratives of his time in the west. Included are his diary from his 1860 journey to Utah, his analysis of the disaster at the Little Bighorn, his campaign against Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce in 1877, and his later friendship with that Chief. He also wrote a wonderful account of a visit to Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Gibbon never completed his memoirs of his career in the west and these articles are what we have to tell the story of one of the most important and remarkable careers in U.S. Army history. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the movement that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Letter, West Point, 20 Aug. 1856, to accompany ordnance receipts written while Gibbon was an artillery instructor at the Military Academy; letters to his wife, 1862-1864, describing troop movements and telling of Gibbon's desire to see his family again; letter, Lynchburg, Va., 14 April 1865, to wife telling of the reconstruction; letter 12 April 1865 to wife telling of the surrender of Lee's Army and the paper work with which Gibbon is involved; special orders, 9 April 1865, designating Gibbon, Brvt Maj. Gen. Griffin and Brvt Maj. Merrit to carry out terms of surrender agreed to by R.E. Lee; Appomattox Court House, 10 April 1865, official terms of surrender signed by Gibbon, Griffin, Merritt, Longstreet, Gordon, Pendleton and Chafarty; other papers relating to Lee's surrender.