Bøger af Terry C Pierce

""Promotions or a coffin!" To George Armstrong Custer, war is the Devil's own fun. And his luck-"Custer Luck"-peaks during the Civil War, keeping him alive against all odds. Yet, for the first two years of the war, Custer luck has not earned him a command-until, three days before a brewing battle at Gettysburg, Captain George Custer is promoted to brigadier general. Possessed with raw courage, rare gallantry, and reckless heroism, Custer becomes the youngest general in the Union army. Hugely spirited, tactically flexible, and fiercely ambitious, Custer, on July 3, 1863, trots in front of the First Michigan cavalry regiment, grips his sheathed saber, and pulls. The blade swishes from its metal scabbard with the sleekness of a swooping hawk. "Come on, You Wolverines!" he yells. And the 23-year-old leads one of the greatest cavalry charges in the annals of warfare. Craving attention, approval, and glory, the boy general with long, flowing, golden locks is an impulsive, fearless daredevil. Commanding the Michigan Cavalry Brigade, Custer is throttled by his vainglorious reporting senior and ridiculed by battle-hardened Wolverines. But the pride that lies in the flesh of all men is thicker in Custer. He loves dancing at the edge of death's doorstep. And he believes that moral courage means leading from the front-but not always following orders. Because he knows that, between orders and duty, blind obedience and justified defiance hang in the balance. Thundering Courage is the riveting story of the Union cavalry's Second and Third Divisions at Gettysburg, boy generals who face crises of justified defiance, and the unsung hero who wisely keeps a human thunderbolt on a tight, short string. Built firmly upon the annals of history, Thundering Courage journeys through the hearts and minds of Union cavalry heroes who face the agony of choosing between blind obedience and justified defiance at the Battle of Gettysburg"--

Between plans and their execution rage the winds of war. The winds of chance. The winds of choice. The winds of political ambition and human error—and human schemes.The winds of war grow dark around General George Meade, appointed to command the Army of the Potomac just three days before a brewing battle against Robert E. Lee, charismatic leader of the Confederate forces. No one—not even the outgoing commander—seems to know where Lee’s army is, except that they are somewhere on Northern soil, possibly pushing toward a decisive battle deep in the heart of the Union.Bound by duty to take a position he did not seek and does not want, Meade reluctantly accepts Lincoln’s appointment, and overnight, the fate of nearly 100,000 Union soldiers is in his hands.Meade is a planner—a quiet, capable engineer whose commitment to modesty and restraint is second only to his commitment to honor, duty, and country. While the winds of war swirl around him, he struggles to concoct a battle plan without even the most basic information, in order to defeat an enemy he cannot find, on ground he has not yet seen. Thwarted by insufficient military intelligence, and betrayed by the machinations of an unscrupulous general with dreams of glory, Meade knows it will take all his skill and the heroism of his troops to best the formidable and hitherto undefeated Lee. The fate of the Republic itself hangs in the balance.Without Warning is the gripping saga of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union patriots who fought it, and the man who led them. It scrutinizes the role character plays in leadership and the challenge of the unexpected. Built firmly upon the annals of history, this epic historical novel brings to vivid life seven unforgettable days in the lives and trials of a Union general and his men as they brave the winds of war to save the United States of America.