Union General is written by William L. Shea. This is the first biography of Samuel Ryan Curtis, the most important and most successful general on either side in the Civil War west of the Mississippi River. Curtis was a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran. As a Civil War buff he is not someone that I have had the pleasure to know a lot about. I felt the author did great and careful research - and brought Samuel Ryan Curtis to life through his writing. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book - all thoughts are my own.

AMERICAN ESSENCE

Gen. Samuel Curtis Chronicled in First Written Biography

BY MARK LARDAS APRIL 23, 2023

Samuel Ryan Curtis was one of the North’s most successful generals during the American Civil War. He never lost a battle and was the victor at several key battles, including Pea Ridge. He commanded Union forces in the Trans-Mississippi and negotiated peace with the Sioux late in the war. A nationally-known civil engineer before the war, he also helped found the Republican Party. Today, he is almost entirely forgotten.

“Union General: Samuel Ryan Curtis and Victory in the West” by William L. Shea examines Curtis’s life. Shea reveals an extraordinary man and someone important to American history. His contributions were important in three different fields: politics, engineering, and the military. The first biography of the man, it is a worthy examination of his life.

Born near Lake Champlain in 1805, Curtis grew up in Ohio. He became in turn a clerk, a civil engineer (developing water projects and later railroad rights of way), a West Point cadet, a lawyer, and a politician. During the Mexican–American War, he commanded the Third Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment. He served as city engineer in St. Louis, then moved to Iowa to oversee public works and railroad projects in that state.

Curtis entered national politics in the 1850s and was elected to the House of Representatives for Iowa in 1856. An early supporter of Abraham Lincoln, he helped Lincoln get the presidential nomination. Curtis sponsored the first transcontinental railroad act. When the Civil War started, he resigned his seat and took command of the Second Iowa Volunteer Infantry.

Shea follows Curtis through the Civil War, where he had an outstanding record, rising to command of the Army of the Border. The author examines the reasons Curtis never got his due as a general. Curtis served exclusively west of the Mississippi, far from the press and public attention. Although Curtis attended West Point, Grant considered Curtis to be a political general, depreciating his strategic abilities. Curtis was also an early abolitionist, a position unpopular in the war’s opening year. Finally, he died in 1866, before writing his memoirs. These all combined to reduce Curtis to obscurity.

This biography may focus some well-deserved and fresh attention on Curtis. A well-written study of one man’s life, it is both meticulously researched and a fascinating story, written in an engaging way. Shea is a worthy advocate of man deserving attention.

“Union General: Samuel Ryan Curtis and Victory in the West” by William L. Shea (Potomac Books, January 2023).

The American Founders were gifted, multi-dimensional leaders. Many of them had multiple careers throughout their lifetimes, holding positions as surveyors, farmers, merchants, lawyer, and soldiers. Their stories can serve as an inspiration to the current generation of leaders who must struggle with many of the same issues the Founders struggled with developing this nation. Wartime service, particularly from the American Revolution to the Civil War, was often a prerequisite for future leadership in state and federal government.

Union General: Samuel Ryan Curtis and Victory in the West by William L. Shea brings the story of General Samuel Ryan Curtis to life in his first biography. General Curtis was a highly successful West Point graduate, engineer, Congressman and soldier during the Mexican-American and Civil Wars. His life is well-documented by many letters he shared with his family and scrapbooks that he kept from his military campaigns.

General Curtis is probably just now receiving the attention he deserves because he primarily served the outer boundaries of the then Western frontier in Missouri and Arkansas. Most of the attention during the Civil War was on the Eastern theater where the likes of Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman fought. Despite his distance from his superiors, General Curtis held a steady hand of leadership and defended the U.S. Western boundaries from the Confederates and Native American uprisings as local tribes were also being pushed West.

There are common themes in the lives of the great military leaders of the American Revolution and Civil War generations. They were incredibly smart and had basic foundational skills that made them knowledgeable about traversing the land and building earthworks whether it be from experience as a surveyor, engineer, or explorer. Many also endured great personal tragedy and long separations from their families. There were also always internal political battles within the military for recognition, promotion, and choice assignments. General Curtis’s life follows this familiar pattern.

Although the pattern of the story is not new, Shea’s writing style makes Union General an excellent read. The narrative and quotes Shea provides gives the reader a real sense of Curtis’s character and moments of pride and disappointment. Shea also kept the story moving by including in-depth overviews of the battles Curtis led and the strategies he deployed to defend his territory and supply and maintain his troops.

Union General is an obvious good choice for military and Civil War historians and anyone who enjoys a good book. This review is based on receipt of an advanced review copy.

A great novel of the Civil war and the story of an unsung hero. The story and the man are not well known when compared to the more famous generals of the time. His life was truly inspiring and this book is a great read for all.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.