The distinguished historian Gamaliel Bradford, Jr.—author of Lee, the American and other acclaimed Civil War biographies—offers portraits of eight key leaders of the Confederacy. Bradford's skills at compiling concise profiles are at their finest in these compelling sketches of prominent figures in the Southern Cause.

Commanding officers include Joseph E. Johnston, the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to resign and join the Confederacy; the war's most famous cavalryman, J. E. B. Stuart; Lee's "Old War Horse," James Longstreet, who served from Manassas to Appomattox; P. G. T. Beauregard, winner of the nearly bloodless victory at Fort Sumter; and Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes, so successful in battle that he was charged at the war's end with treason and piracy. Confederate statesmen include U.S. Senator Judah P. Benjamin, appointed by Jefferson Davis as Confederate attorney general, secretary of war, and secretary of state; Vice-President of the Confederate States, Alexander H. Stephens; and Senator Robert Toombs, who evolved from conservative Unionist to ardent secessionist.

The book concludes with the "high water mark" of the Confederacy at Gettysburg and examines the effects of that momentous battle. Previously available only in expensive, hard-to-find editions, this volume is a rare find for Civil War buffs.