Clashes of Cavalry
Hatch (Custer and the Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1997)  acquaints readers with the well-known lives and military  accomplishments of his colorful protagonists: Custer, the  fun-loving West Point cadet who graduated at the bottom of his  class with 726 demerits; and Stuart, a fellow classmate and  self-styled Virginia aristocrat who shunned the "hireling  professions" of law and commerce for the battlefield. The author  skillfully interweaves the extraordinary wartime exploits of  both men from First Manassas until Stuart's death at Yellow  Tavern on May 11, 1864. He offers Stuart as a foppish master  showman whose meteoric rise as the "Beau Sabreur" declines after  Brandy Station and Gettysburg, largely owing to his willfulness  and bad judgment. By comparison, the late-blooming Custer is  seen to eclipse Stuart's reputation through his daring  generalship, ability to survive lackluster superiors, and  substantial contribution to Lincoln's 1864 reelection by driving  Confederate troops from the Shenandoah Valley. Hatch's  concluding chapter summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of  both cavalry commanders, and, surprisingly enough, he  disappoints by declining to choose the better man, although his  entire study argues for Custer. The scholarship is sound, and  maps of the subjects' raids and engagements are helpful.  Recommended for Civil War collections at most libraries. John  Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs., AthensCopyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.