Book Review: Rogue: A Biography of Civil War General Justus McKinstry

Archives

by John K. Driscoll

Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2005. Pp. x, 217. Illus., notes, biblio., index. $39.95 paper. ISBN: 0786423854

In this aptly titled work,Driscoll, author of, among others,Civil War on Pensacola Bay, 1861-1862, gives us an excellent account of the amazing career of the man whom Ezra Warner, called ?one of the most thoroughgoing rogues ever to wear a United States uniform,? 

As a junior officer in Mexico , McKinstry (USMA, 1838, with Beauregard and McDowell) did well under fire, earning a brevet for major, but had already begun a career in which graft and crooked dealings took precedence over military ethics. Taking advantage of his status as a quartermaster, during his many years of service McKinstry developed considerable skill at juggling the books, manipulating regulations, and surviving inquiries and courts martial, on no less than five occasions! Made a brigadier general in mid-1861, as a quartermaster based in St. Louis he began grafting on an heroic scale, eventually becoming the only general officer in either army to be cashiered for corruption.  

In addition to telling the sad tale of McKinstry?s career, Rogue provides a good look at military administration during the Civil War.

Reviewer: A. A. Nofi   


Buy it at Amazon.com

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   Contribute   Close