The Tarnished Cavalier: Major General Earl Van Dorn, C.S.A.The Tarnished Cavalier: Major General Earl Van Dorn Earl Van Dorn (September 17, 1820 – May 7, 1863) was a career U.S. Army officer and a Confederate major general during the American Civil War. Born near Port Gibson, Mississippi, Van Dorn graduated from the U.S. , C.S.A. By Arthur B. Carter. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press The University of Tennessee Press (or UT Press), founded in 1940, is a university press that is part of the University of Tennessee. External link
abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 1-57233-047-3.) Earl Van Dorn has never been considered one of the Confederacy's major players. Perhaps this is due to Van Dorn's untimely death in 1863; as with Stonewall stone·wall v. stone·walled, stone·wall·ing, stone·walls v.intr. 1. Informal a. Jackson we are left wondering what might have been. The difference, of course, is that Jackson's combat record was solid and he died in heroic although unusual circumstances, while Van Dorn's military record was spotty and he fell victim to an allegedly jealous husband. Despite his short life, Van Dorn's leadership abilities are worth close scrutiny. Most historians have concluded that Van Dorn's personal bravery and daring did not translate to good battlefield management skills Arthur B. Carter agrees with those scholars in The Tarnished Cavalier. Carter notes that at Pea Ridge and again at Corinth, Van Dorn "split his forces and lost control of them, demonstrating his inability to handle large bodies of troops" (p. 201). The result in both instances was decisive defeat. The obvious question is why a seemingly well-qualified officer should have failed on such a grand scale. Carter writes that "Van Dorn could plan elaborate campaigns, but failed to realize that too many things could go wrong." He further argues that "Van Dorn coupled impulsiveness and recklessness with his tendency not to brief and confide in his subordinate commanders and failure to delegate authority" (p. 201). Van Dorn clearly had a command beyond his capabilities, and his disaster at Pea Ridge should have brought reassignment. A reassignment did come, but only after he had botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. another battle at Corinth. He became an effective leader of cavalry. Unfortunately for the Confederacy Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union. , Van Dorn's "flawed character" shortened his cavalry career (p. xi). Carter makes a significant contribution to our understanding of his subject's personal flaws by looking closely at Van Dorn's marriage. Van Dorn clearly was no better at being a responsible husband and father than he was at being a responsible commander of large numbers of troops. Van Dorn's relationship with his wife was strained by their frequent separations, and he fathered three children in an affair. The story is well known that Van Dorn's infidelity ultimately produced his death, but Carter gives more details than previously have been available. Did George Peters shoot Van Dorn because the general supposedly had been having an affair with Peters' wife? Probably; but Carter offers another, tantalizing tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. possibility. Shortly after the shooting, Peters's land and slaves in Arkansas--previously confiscated con·fis·cate tr.v. con·fis·cat·ed, con·fis·cat·ing, con·fis·cates 1. To seize (private property) for the public treasury. 2. To seize by or as if by authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. adj. by Federal troops--were returned to him. The implications are obvious. These fresh insights are welcome, and, although the narrative drags due to Carter's over-use of the passive voice, his book is a good companion to Robert Hartje's 1967 biography. MICHAEL B. BALLARD Mississippi State University Mississippi State University, at Mississippi State, near Starkville; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1878 as an agricultural and mechanical college, opened 1880. From 1932 to 1958 it was known as Mississippi State College. |
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