Why John Pelham?

The book is here now! Copies are getting signed and shipped. Glorious Courage: John Pelham in the Civil War has gone from an idea, road trips, a messy pile of research notes, and late-night manuscript writing to become a real book. And I couldn’t have done it alone. Many thanks to colleagues and friends who have provided encouragement, ideas, or expertise along the way. While writing is bettered with editors, fact-checking friends, and a good publisher, there is still a part of the process that is uniquely personal. That’s the “why.” Why write this book?

Looking at the book cover and seeing Pelham’s image staring back at me, I realize it’s been six years of working on this book. Somewhat delayed by library closures during Covid Years and somewhat stalled by my reluctance to write and finalize (because what if Pelham’s letters are discovered next week?!), but six years of focusing on Pelham’s life in one way or another. That’s longer than the five years he was at the United States Military Academy at West Point. That’s longer than the nearly two years he survived the Civil War. So…why six years with John Pelham?

The personal answer to that question has morphed over time. I’m not the same person I was six years ago, though I don’t really credit Pelham with the change. (Sorry.) The core of the motivation has stayed the same: I wanted to know who this artillery officer was without the legends.

Strange things can happen in historical memory and historiography, and for decades Pelham’s memory has been molded to fit a Lost Cause narrative. The post-Civil War South needed idealized, young, handsome, gallant martyrs to perpetuate a particular view of Antebellum society and the war itself. Blonde, blue-eyed, courageous Pelham became—in a sense—a poster boy, and in time, a lot of unsubstantiated stories, hints, or implications exalted him. To be honest that annoyed me and I wanted to better understand Pelham’s life and battlefields without the extra glitter.

Here’s the thing about Pelham. He doesn’t need myths. He doesn’t need extra varnish. Pelham has a solid battlefield record. He organized and transformed Horse Artillery for the Army of Northern Virginia. He took an active role in large battles and dozens of lesser-known skirmishes. He was frequently mentioned in battle reports, was routinely recognized by commanding officers, and even gained international fame following his battlefield exploit at Fredericksburg.

I wanted to understand the historiography around Pelham and how it evolved over the years, but for the book, I wanted to write a short manuscript from primary sources created during Pelham’s lifetime whenever possible. Of course, there are secondary sources in the citations, but I’ve tried to use them for the harder-to-find primary sources and not the repeated stories or previous opinions that are hard to track down solid sourcing. Every author has bias and personal opinions; please don’t think I’m being unkindly critical of those who have written about Pelham before or that I am under a delusion that my writing is free of it. (The historiography of Pelham biographies is truly fascinating!) The primary sources have been a fun adventure, and since most of Pelham’s Civil War letters are missing, it was a detective journey to figure out who was writing about him either during his lifetime or who had known him well and wrote with more trustworthy accuracy after his death.

John Pelham, 1860It’s my hope that readers will find Glorious Courage an easy, short narrative to follow John Pelham from Alabama to West Point to Civil War battlefields. I hope the historical facts of this young officer’s life, decisions, and leadership will be compelling and thought-provoking. I invited you to look beyond the stereotypes and really see Pelham’s life. You may find heroics. You may find historical decisions you don’t agree with. You may find a young man staring down war with a grim acceptance. But I hope you find a story of a life with courage and the chance to ponder what it means.