General George E. Pickett in life & legend
By: Lesley J. Gordon.
Series: Civil War America
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Chapel Hill
Language: eng
Number of pages: 269
Subjects: Pickett, George E. 1825-1875.; Pickett, La Salle Corbell, 1848-1931.; Generals -- Confederate States of America -- Biography.; Generals' spouses -- Confederate States of America -- Biography.; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Biography.
Description: George E. Pickett is among the most famous Confederate generals of the Civil War. But even today he remains imperfectly understood, a figure shrouded in Lost Cause mythology. In this carefully researched biography, Lesley Gordon moves beyond earlier studies of Pickett. By investigating the central role played by his wife LaSalle in controlling his historical image, Gordon illuminates Pickett's legend as well as his life.

After exploring Pickett's prewar life as a professional army officer trained at West Point, battle-tested in Mexico, and seasoned on the western frontier, Gordon traces his return to the South in 1861 to fight for the Confederacy. She examines his experiences during the Civil War, including the famed, but failed, charge at the battle of Gettysburg, and charts the decline in his career that followed.

Rather than celebrate or try to rehabilitate her subjects, Gordon asks critical questions about the Picketts and the deep and long-lasting effects the war had on men and women, marriage, and social status.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [241]-260) and index.