by Adolfo Ovies
El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2021. Pp. xxxii, 372.
Illus., maps, ,notes, index. $34.95. ISBN: 1611215358
The Boy Generals is the first of three volumes examining the lives and careers of these two young cavalrymen, who were both promoted to brigadier general on the eve of Gettysburg, along with Elon Farnsworth, who didn’t survive the battle. Custer and Merritt had contrasting visions of the role of the mounted arm, and both influenced the evolution of the U.S. Cavalry during and after the Civil War.
Ovies traces the early service of the two following graduation from West Point (Merritt, 1860, Custer ’61) through the Gettysburg campaign, by which time they were brigadier generals.
They two did not get along personally, having vastly contrasting personalities, Custer flamboyant, outgoing, and hungry for publicity, Merritt reserved, with little interest in “glory”.
They also diverged in their views on the role of cavalry. Ovies labels Custer “the hussar”, seeing cavalry as the arm of shock and decision, and Merritt as “the drag0on”, seeing cavalry’s role primarily as mounted infantry. Ovies shows how both proved able troopers, each in his way, which led to swift promotion, and how their actions helped shape the war and the rise of Union cavalry. Future volumes will explore their roles in the post-war army.
The Boy Generals is a good read for the serious student of the war or of the U.S. Cavalry.
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Note: The Boy Generals is also available in audio- and e-editions.
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