From Shiloh to San Juan: The Life of "Fightin' Joe" Wheeler

Rating:
Summary: The Fighting Gamecock
Review: "God I'd hate to see the look on Old Stonewall's face when he sees Joe arriving at Heaven's gate in that Blue Uniform" - one Confederate veteran alledgedly told another, or words to that effect when General Wheeler passed on.

By that time this Fighting Gamecock of the Confederacy had proudly worn once again the Blue of the United States Army, leading Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders through a number of vicious, swirling fire-fights right up to that grand assault on San Juan Hill.

This was something that came natural to Joseph Wheeler. Georgia-born, Ct. raised, and finally a son of Alabama. A West Pointer, several years ahead of George Custer (they knew each other)Wheeler, despite ties to the North, chose to resign his commission and go south at the outbreak of the Civil War. While he might not have been a brilliant Cavalry Commander, and he did have his run-ins with Nathan Bedford Forrest, who after one operation that failed (against Fort Donelson) vowed never to serve under Wheeler again, he was still outstanding at best, extremely competent at least - and bedevilled Sherman and the hapless fool and suspected coward who commanded the Union cavalry facing him in the Georgia campaign, H. Judson Kilpatrick (his West Point classmate).

Despite a rough time imprisoned after Appomattox, Wheeler turned the other check, and became a U.S. Senator who openly urged reconciliation between North and South. He could be faulted for prejudices towards Blacks, he was a product of the times and considerably less prejudiced than the bigots of his time like fellow Alabama Senator George Tyler Morgan, Pitchfork Ben Tillman, and Tom Watson - and Wheeler did respect, if not like, the "Buffalo Soldiers" who fought alongside him in the 9th and 10th Cavalry in Cuba.

When William McKinley, himself a Union vet who served at Antietam and in Sheridan's Shenandoah campaigns urged Wheeler to once again serve his country in the Spanish-American War, he hesitated only briefly, then went on to don the Union Blue and lead the Cavalry forces to glory in Cuba - marred only slightly by his own rashness at Las Guisamas. Even then Wheeler, momentarily forgetting that he was in Cuba, not at Chickamauga, uttered one of that war's most memorable lines - "We've got the damn Yankees on the run!"

Wheeler, old and grey bearded, was still full of vigor and served America one more time in the Philippines before retiring and finally dying in that well-known Southern town called New York City. He was finally laid to rest in his U.S. Army uniform at Arlington cemetery.

Dyer gave us the only solid biography of this American hero. I only wish he had provided the reader with more illustrations than just the couple showing Wheeler as a West Pointer, A Confederate General, a U.S. Senator, and finally a Major General of Volunteers in the Spanish-American War.

Rating:
Summary: Great History
Review: Dyer's book is one of the best I've seen regarding Joseph Wheeler.

Born in GA, raised in CT, obtaining his West Point commission from a NY senator, Wheeler was a product of both North and South. Robert E. Lee proclaimed that Wheeler was one of the two best cavalry commanders in the War Between the States (the other was J.E.B. Stuart) -- he was also one of the youngest, reaching the rank of Maj. Gen. at 26 years of age. While many of the old confederate commanders wasted away following the war, Wheeler became a prominent Congressman from Alabama, espousing reconciliation and industrialization within his section of North Alabama, this in order to overcome the ravages wrought by the war.

Wheeler had the distinction of being one of only two former Confederate general officers that LATER served at that rank for the US Army, this time during the Spanish-American War [Fitzhugh Lee (Robert E. Lee's nephew) was the other, although the war ended before Lee's troops could see action]. During the Cuban campaign, Wheeler had under his command such officers and men as Leonard Wood, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt (and the Rough Riders), "Black Jack" Pershing, and others that would gain prominence in later years.

Wheeler is one of the few (if not the only) high ranking former Confederate officers to have been granted the honor of being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

His story deserves a unique place in the history of this nation.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Biography of a Great American
Review: John Dyer has written the fundamental biography of Joseph Wheeler. The work is a colorful, enjoyable read, which should be enjoyed by most -- it is most definitely NOT a dry, cardboard biography. All readers would enjoy the style in which Dyer writes.

Joseph Wheeler was a great American, perhaps overlooked somewhat in modern times due to his rather modest approach to life and duty. This approach seems to basically have been, 'put your head down, drive on, and perform one's Duty to the best of one's abilities, regardless of obstacles or consequences.' Wheeler upheld these principles throughout his life, having served in an astonishing number of military and political positions. He served as a Confederate Major General of Cavalry for much of the Civil War in the West. He became a planter, lawyer, and Congressman from North Alabama for much of the remainder of the 19th Century. Furthermore, he sought and gained a commission in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Indeed, he would command the 5th Corps, 1st Cavalry Division during combat operations in Cuba. Famous figures that served under his command there included, Colonel Leonard Wood, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt of Rough Rider fame, as well as the 9th and 10th US Regular Cavalry Regiments (The Buffalo Soldiers), also including Jack Pershing, later to command the AEF during WWI. After his death, Wheeler was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and was one of only two former Confederate generals to have been granted that honor.

This book is highly recommended. Read it, and learn some more about a person that was truly representative of the great American Spirit, and whose life reflected an admirable and staunch observance of (and devotion to) Duty, Honor, and Country.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Biography of a Great American
Review: John Dyer has written the fundamental biography of Joseph Wheeler. The work is a colorful, enjoyable read, which should be enjoyed by most -- it is most definitely NOT a dry, cardboard biography. All readers would enjoy the style in which Dyer writes.

Joseph Wheeler was a great American, perhaps overlooked somewhat in modern times due to his rather modest approach to life and duty. This approach seems to basically have been, 'put your head down, drive on, and perform one's Duty to the best of one's abilities, regardless of obstacles or consequences.' Wheeler upheld these principles throughout his life, having served in an astonishing number of military and political positions. He served as a Confederate Major General of Cavalry for much of the Civil War in the West. He became a planter, lawyer, and Congressman from North Alabama for much of the remainder of the 19th Century. Furthermore, he sought and gained a commission in the U.S. Army at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Indeed, he would command the 5th Corps, 1st Cavalry Division during combat operations in Cuba. Famous figures that served under his command there included, Colonel Leonard Wood, Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt of Rough Rider fame, as well as the 9th and 10th US Regular Cavalry Regiments (The Buffalo Soldiers), also including Jack Pershing, later to command the AEF during WWI. After his death, Wheeler was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and was one of only two former Confederate generals to have been granted that honor.

This book is highly recommended. Read it, and learn some more about a person that was truly representative of the great American Spirit, and whose life reflected an admirable and staunch observance of (and devotion to) Duty, Honor, and Country.

Rating:
Summary: From Shiloh to San Juan,The life of "Fightin"Joe Wheeler
Review: This book is details the life of one extra ordinary man, General "Fightin" Joe Wheeler.It details his life as few bigraphies do. It details the the trumiphs and the failures. But in all of this you will see the chracter of the man ride high.He had the distinction of being both a Confederate General and also leading the US Voulunteers in Cuba and the Philippines. I would STRONGLY suggest buying this book for any history buff. He may not be as well known as Grant, Sherman, Lee or Longstreet, But his contribution to the History United States deserves to be known!

Rating:
Summary: Great History
Review: This book is details the life of one extra ordinary man, General "Fightin" Joe Wheeler.It details his life as few bigraphies do. It details the the trumiphs and the failures. But in all of this you will see the chracter of the man ride high.He had the distinction of being both a Confederate General and also leading the US Voulunteers in Cuba and the Philippines. I would STRONGLY suggest buying this book for any history buff. He may not be as well known as Grant, Sherman, Lee or Longstreet, But his contribution to the History United States deserves to be known!