James S. Wadsworth was a successful lawyer and influential New York politician when the Civil War broke out. His wealth, strong anti-slavery views, and active support of President Lincoln made him a controversial public figure in the early war years. In 1863, he was given a field command and proved himself to be one of the Union's most able and daring commanders, although he died before the war ended. His battlefield boldness and righteous resolve to end slavery is, as former U.S. Congressman James W. Symington says, "a vivid reminder that our Civil War was, indeed, fought on moral grounds."

This biography makes use of many primary and secondary sources to portray Wadsworth's Military Career--Analyzing his leadership capabilities. Wadsworth was one of a few politico generals who proved his worth on the field of battle. He was mortally wounded in the wilderness in 1864 while he attempted to rally his confused troops.

Petition to Massachusetts provincial congress for relief, dated Machias, May 25, 1775 and signed by 89 residents: p. 125-127. Report of the Committee of correspondence of Machias to the Provincial congress on the Margaretta affair, dated June 15, 1755: p. 129-131.

This biography delves into the life and military career of James S. Wadsworth, a brevet major-general of United States volunteers during the Civil War. Pearson reveals Wadsworth's personal life, character, and contributions to the Union cause, offering a compelling look at a lesser-known figure of the war. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from James S. Wadsworth of Geneseo: Brevet Major-General of United States Volunteers The documentary materials for writing the life of James S. Wadsworth are of the scantiest description. He was always a sparing letter-writer, and although during his service in the army he wrote regularly to members of his family, the letters have almost all, from one cause or another, suffered destruction. The story of his work in the Civil War, therefore - what he did in camp, on the field of battle, as military governor, and in politics - must be traced in the printed records that deal with that time. Abundant as these are, it has often been only after long Bearch that they have yielded up information about an individual who, in filling his proper place in the vast machinery of the army, gave all his thoughts to the duties before him and none to the spreading of them before men. In view of this meagreness of printed matter bearing on General Wadsworth's career and of such manuscript records as the members of his family have been able to place at my disposal, I have been particularly fortunate in the cordial assistance that has come to me from three surviving members of his staff. Brigadier-General John A. Kress (U. S. A. retired), Colonel Clinton H. Meneely, of Troy, New York, and Major Earl M. Rogers, of Viroqua, Wisconsin, have spared no pains either in giving me such memoranda and recollections as they had or in answering my many questions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.