Edward G. Longacre

History remembers George Armstrong Custer for his ignominious defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, but before that, he rose like a meteor—and flashed as brilliantly— during the American Civil War, from last in his class at West Point to hard-charging cavalry leader, major general, and divi...

Born in Shawneetown, Illinois in time to be newly graduated from West Point when the Civil War started, James H. Wilson became a brigadier general by the age of twenty-six. Fueled by boundless ambition and the desire to serve his country, he reorganized the Union cavalry in time to gain the upper...