Lee's Body Guards: The 39th Virginia Cavalry [Paperback]

They considered themselves Lees Body Guard, cavalrymen specifically recruited to serve as scouts, couriers and guides for General Robert E. Lee. Though their battle experiences might pale compared to those of soldiers under J.E.B. Stuart and Wade Hampton, the men of the 39th Virginia served crucial roles in the Confederate army. From the fields of Second Manassas to Appomattox Court House, they were privy to the inner workings of the Confederate high command. They were also firsthand witnesses to the armys victories and triumphs and to its tragedies and trials, from losing Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville to losing the opportunity to win the war at Gettysburg. Award-winning author Michael C. Hardy chronicles the experiences of this unique group of Confederate cavalrymen.Michael Hardy has authored twenty-two books, and his articles have appeared in Civil War Times, Americas Civil War, North and South, Gettysburg Magazine, the Tar Heel Junior Historians and Confederate Veteran. Since 2014, he has reviewed books for Blue and Gray magazine. Since 2011, he has been a volunteer-in-parks on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Hardy was awarded the 2010 Historian of the Year award by the North Carolina Society of Historians. You can learn more through his blog, Looking for North Carolinas Civil War, or at his web page, www.michaelchardy.com.Michael Hardy'sLee's Body Guardsrepresents a unique contribution to the small-unit historiography of the Army of Northern Virginia. Formations, units, and individuals who performed important tasks behind the scenes and in support of their compatriots on the fighting line have received a bit more attention of late, and this is a valuable history of a small group of officers and men who performed vital services not routinely trumpeted in the history books.Civil War Books and Authors