One of Custer's Wolverines

Primarily known for his postwar exploits, most famously his 1876 defeat at Little Big Horn, George Armstrong Custer is receiving renewed interest for his successful Civil War generalship. He led the Michigan Cavalry Brigade in more than sixty battles and skirmishes. Forming perhaps the finest single cavalry brigade in the war, these horse soldiers repeatedly proved themselves as formidable opponents to the Confederates, earning them the nickname of Custer's Wolverines. Among the Wolverines was James Harvey Kidd, who serves as an excellent example of the sort of man who followed Custer's lead. Enlisting at the beginning of the war as a 21-year-old college student, he quickly became captain and then full colonel, briefly serving as the brigade's commander. A newspaperman by training, Kidd wrote long, eloquent letters to his friends and family in which he detailed the conditions and experiences of life in the field. These unusually articulate letters, rich with insights, perceptions, and observations, tell a moving story of wartime service.