Wert, Jeffry D. 1946–

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Wert, Jeffry D. 1946–

PERSONAL:

Born May 8, 1946. Education: Lock Haven University, B.A. (cum laude), Pennsylvania State University, M.A.

CAREER:

Historian, educator, and writer. Penns Valley Area High School, Spring Mills, PA, history teacher.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Alan Nolan-Iron Brigade Award, 2000.

WRITINGS:

From Winchester to Cedar Creek: The Shenandoah Campaign of 1864, South Mountain Press (Carlisle, PA), 1987, 2nd edition, Stackpole Books (Mechanicsburg, PA), 1997.

Mosby's Rangers, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1990.

General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier: A Biography, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1993.

Custer: The Controversial Life of George Armstrong Custer, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1996.

A Brotherhood of Valor: The Common Soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade, C.S.A., and the Iron Brigade, U.S.A., Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1999.

Gettysburg, Day Three, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2001.

The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2005.

Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J.E.B. Stuart, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 2008.

Contributor of articles to periodicals.

SIDELIGHTS:

Civil War historian Jeffry D. Wert has illuminated America's most turbulent years in the nineteenth-century with histories of both the Union and the Confederate sides. In From Winchester to Cedar Creek: The Shenandoah Campaign of 1864, he provides a blow-by-blow account of the eighth Vermont Infantry's campaign in the Shenandoah Valley, beginning with the 1864 Third Winchester Battle. Wert also analyses the commanders, Philip H. Sheridan and Jubal A. Early, and their subordinates. Archie P. McDonald wrote in the Journal of Southern History: "Readers who have an appetite for learning the placement and activities of virtually every unit and many individuals in the three battles will be gratified, as will those who want an analysis of the generals and their goals." A second edition, with a new introduction by Wert, was published in 1997.

Mosby's Rangers narrates the campaign of what Wert calls "probably the most renowned combat unit of the Civil War," the 43rd Battalion of Virginia Cavalry. Led by Colonel John Singleton Mosby, the Raiders were formed in January of 1863. The guerrillas executed strategic raids on Union railroads, pickets, wagon trains, troop detachments, and outposts. However, according to Wert, the Rangers did not delay the Union victory as much as they thought; in fact, they merely brought unnecessary suffering upon their own people. Washington Post contributor Robert A. Webb wrote that Wert's "fresh, unromantic look at Mosby's band" is valuable as a history and as a "guide for day trips to dozens of towns and villages where Mosby operated, each with a story or two to tell." Wert does a similar analysis in A Brotherhood of Valor: The Common Soldiers of the Stonewall Brigade, C.S.A., and the Iron Brigade, U.S.A. Wert sets about redeeming an often maligned historical figure in his General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier: A Biography. This was a difficult subject for a biography because all of Longstreet's private papers were destroyed in two different house fires. Wert relies on military facts to narrate Longstreet's career, which began in the Mexican War. Longstreet was blamed for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg when he opposed Lee's determination to make a frontal assault. Whether or not he is responsible, Longstreet must also bear the infamy of engaging in conspiracy under Braxton Bragg in Tennessee, receiving pay as a Confederate officer before resigning his U.S. commission. Still, he was a tactically brilliant soldier. John Eisenhower commented in the New York Times Book Review that "Mr. Wert … feels that criticisms of Longstreet have been largely unfair, and he attempts to restore Longstreet's reputation to what he considers its rightful place. Yet he does not do so at the expense of Longstreet's ‘competitors,’ notably Jackson." Eisenhower went on to write in the same review that "despite Longstreet's faults, the reader comes away with sympathy and respect for a general treated unfairly in conventional history."

Wert discusses another provocative historical figure in his book, Custer: The Controversial Life of George Armstrong Custer, based on archival research and recent scholarship. One the Union's youngest generals, Custer had an unsurpassed record as a cavalry officer. His tremendous self-confidence helped ensure his victories, but his flamboyant personal style alienated many other soldiers. After the Civil War, Custer allowed himself to take too many chances, and he fell in the famed battle at Little Bighorn with the Plains Indians. Wert also examines Custer's marriage with Elizabeth (Libbie) Clift Bacon Custer. Comparing Wert's biography with that by Louise Barnett (Touched by Fire, 1996), New York Times Book Review contributor Robert V. Remini declared Wert's the better biography, "with a fuller and more exciting description of the Last Stand."

In Gettysburg, Day Three, Wert examines the final day of the famous Civil War battle. Seen from both the Union and Confederate sides, Wert, using diaries and letters, shows the battle in all its confusion from the point of view of the individual soldiers, and the generals, including George Meade, Winfield Scott Hancock, James Longstreet, and Robert E. Lee. Wert recounts the battlefield decisions and motivations, including Pickett's charge on the Northern encampment, and switches from one venue to another to capture the battle in all its scope. Booklist contributor Jay Freeman wrote that Gettysburg, Day Three "will be an excellent addition to Civil War collections."

In a review of Wert's next book, The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac, Historynet.com contributor Steven Wright commented that "this book is destined to become a classic." In his book, the author draws on letters and diaries, many previously unpublished, to present an authoritative one-volume history of the Army of the Potomac, which fought battles from Bull Run to Gettysburg to Appomattox, eventually defeating the Confederacy's Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. The author describes how the Army of the Potomac was headed by a number of flawed commanders and suffered several major defeats until Gettysburg, which it won decisively under the command of General George Meade. Under its next leader, Ulysses S. Grant, the Army of the Potomac would finally trap and defeat Lee and his forces.

Writing in Parameters, J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr., wrote that The Sword of Lincoln "is an outstanding piece of historical writing on the Army of the Potomac," adding: "It is massively researched—25 percent of the numbered pages are endnotes, bibliography, and index—and told in the flowing narrative of an accomplished storyteller." Gilbert Taylor wrote in Booklist that the author "clarifies the crowded history of this army, crafting an excellent overview of the historic battles."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Atlantic, January, 1994, Phoebe Lou Adams, review of General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier: A Biography, pp. 122-123.

Booklist, October 15, 1993, Roland Green, review of General James Longstreet, p. 416; May 15, 1996, Gilbert Taylor, review of Custer: The Controversial Life of George Armstrong Custer, p. 1566; June 1, 2001, Jay Freeman, review of Gettysburg, Day Three, p. 1833; March 1, 2005, Gilbert Taylor, review of The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac, p. 1135.

Civil War Times, October, 2001, Mark L. Bradley, review of Gettysburg, Day Three, p. 14.

Journal of Southern History, August, 1998, Archie P. McDonald, review of From Winchester to Cedar Creek, p. 557.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 1990, review of Mosby's Rangers, p. 1076.

Library Journal, March 15, 2005, Randall M., review of The Sword of Lincoln, p. 98.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, December 30, 1990, Chris Goodrich, review of Mosby's Rangers, p. 6.

Military Review, January-February, 2006, Paul L. Hulse, review of The Sword of Lincoln, p. 124.

New Republic, July 29, 1996, James M. McPherson, review of Custer, pp. 38-41.

New York Times Book Review, November 28, 1993, John Eisenhower, "The Goat of Gettysburg," p. 34; July 14, 1996, Robert V. Remini, "Furious George."

Parameters, autumn, 2006, J. Boone Bartholomees, Jr., review of The Sword of Lincoln, p. 133.

Publishers Weekly, April 22, 1996, review of Custer, p. 53; December 7, 1998, review of A Brotherhood of Valor, p. 41; February 14, 2005, review of The Sword of Lincoln, p. 64.

Virginia Quarterly Review, winter, 2002, review of Gettysburg, Day Three.

Washington Post, October 14, 1990, Robert A. Webb, review of Mosby's Rangers, p. 8.

Washington Post Book World, November 28, 1993, review of General James Longstreet, p. 13.

Wild West, December, 1996, review of Custer, p. 76.