ABOUT THE BOOK

As a member of a distinguished South Carolina family, Matthew Calbraith Butler led a most interesting life. His cavalry service during the Civil War saw him rise from regimental captain to major general in command of a division. He began the war with J.E.B. Stuart and participated in all of his early campaigns. Butler was wounded in the battle at Brandy Station and lost his foot as a result, but he returned to duty and the battles outside of Richmond in 1864, then hurried South to resist Sherman's advance into South Carolina. Unlike many other Confederate generals, Butler remained influential after the War. He served in the U.S. Senate for eighteen years, oversaw the end of Reconstruction in South Carolina, and was a major general during the Spanish-American War.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samuel J. Martin has published numerous articles in Civil War Times Illustrated, The Kepi, and Virginia Country. He is also the author of two previous Civil War biographies, The Road to Glory: The Life of Confederate General Richard S. Ewell and Kill-Cavalry: The Life of Union General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick.

REVIEWS

In this biography, Samuel J. Martin has done a fine job of relating the most noteworthy career of Matthew C. Butler. Martin does justice to his subject with thorough research and an engaging writing style. The author also demonstrates his willingness to reveal the more disagreeable aspects of Butler's character, in particular the general's womanizing. Even a wife, a family and a crippling war wound could not prevent Butler from pursuing the ladies. Martin manages to illuminate quite well the life and times of Butler, and by doing so achieves the biographer's main goal.

While Southern Hero is a worthy addition to any Civil War library, it suffers terribly from poor editing. The book is rife with spelling and grammatical errors. Twice there were two errors on the same page. In addition, the maps provided were simply useless and there were several historical mistakes. These concerned events in the war not directly related to Butler, so they do not reflect poorly on Martin's research, which overall is very good. However, what all this evinces is a sense of a manuscript either rushed to print or neglected in the final proofing stages--a most unfortunate occurrence that seems to be growing more prevalent in the publishing industry these days. Also, Martin takes a decidedly unreconstructed tone in his work. Some will find it dismaying and others will find it delightful. Perhaps it is merely proof positive that the Civil War still rages on in many a heart and mind.