The Boy Generals, Adolfo Ovies
The Boy Generals, Adolfo Ovies
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The Boy Generals
George Custer, Wesley Merritt, and the Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac: From the Gettysburg Retreat Through the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864

Author: Adolfo Ovies

Narrator: Al Kessel

Unabridged: 13 hr 33 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/18/2024

Synopsis

Once below the Potomac River, the Union troopers raced down the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains but were unable to prevent General Lee's wounded Army of Northern Virginia from reaching Culpeper. The balance of 1863 was a series of maneuvers, raids, and fighting that witnessed the near-destruction of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade at Buckland Mills and the indecisive and frustrating efforts of the Bristoe Station and Mine Run campaigns. Alfred Pleasonton's controversial command of the mounted arm ended abruptly, only to be replaced by the more controversial Philip H. Sheridan, whose combustible personality intensified the animosity burning between George Custer and Wesley Merritt.

Victory and glory followed the Cavalry Corps during the early days of the Overland Campaign. The spirited rivalry between Custer and Merritt took a turn for the worse and at Trevilian Station, the bitterness and rancor permeating their relationship broke into the open and made it into their official reports.

This well-researched and meticulously detailed account of the increasingly dysfunctional relationship between Custer and Merritt follows the same entertaining style as Ovies's first installment. The Boy Generals will change the way Civil War enthusiasts understand and judge the actions of the Union's bold riders.

About Adolfo Ovies

Adolfo Ovies migrated to the United States from Cuba in 1960, making his new home in Connecticut. With Gettysburg just a short distance away, ten-year-old Adolfo made his first trip to the battlefield. It turned out to be one of the most impactful moments of his young life, as the American Civil War bug bit him deeply. The Boy Generals: George Custer, Wesley Merritt, and the Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac trilogy springs from Ovies's lifetime passion for the Civil War and George Custer's role in particular.

Ovies serves on the Advisory Board of America's Civil War magazine, where his article on the Battle of Yellow Tavern was recently published. Ovies is an active member of the Miami Civil War Round Table as well as the administrator of the group's Facebook page.

Adolfo currently resides in Miami, Florida, with his wife, Juliet.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Joseph on August 03, 2023

The first instalment in a much-awaited new trilogy, this book satisfies on so many levels. The book focuses on the cavalry division of the Army of the Potomac in the battles up to and including Gettysburg. We learn of the ongoing rivalry between the boy generals; each wanting their share of glory an......more

Goodreads review by Gerry on March 25, 2023

George Armstrong Custer and Wesley Merritt were two of three “boy generals” (Elon Farnsworth didn’t survive Gettysburg) promoted from captain to brigadier general just before the battle of Gettysburg. Each was given a brigade in the Union’s Army of the Potomac. The author’s prologue tells us they we......more

Goodreads review by Francis X DuFour on April 16, 2024

A comparison of the two youngest cavalry generals fighting for the union in the Civil War. The more familiar Custer was a hell-for-leather glory hound, but was nonetheless a brave and outstanding commander of mounted troops . Wesley Merrit was a much more careful and intellectual officer who became......more

Goodreads review by Sherry on February 19, 2022

The story of the Union Cavalry as told around Custer and Merritt. This book is written to fill in truths surrounding the myths of Custer and Merritt and it does so by starting with his funeral and Libby Custer’s promotion of her husband. One of the best accounts from this perspective.......more

Goodreads review by Wesley on August 12, 2024

The author has clearly done a lot of research with original sources and I commend him for it. There are certainly also some interesting passages in here. Unfortunately, the book falls short of bringing together an engaging narrative. It often seemed to lack focus and was difficult to follow.......more

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