"Stephen Hurlbut and the Quest for Redemption" Topic

"Few Civil War generals and politicians had an odder career than Stephen Hurlbut. He was born in South Carolina to Yankee parents, but fled north becoming a political power broker in Illinois. As a politician he was mostly a back room dealer, serving only two terms in Congress and two stints as a diplomat in South America. Although a major player in Illinois, he never achieved a top position within the state's admittedly crowded political arena. His greatest strength was his oratory. Abraham Lincoln called him "the ablest orator on the stump that Illinois had ever produced." Hurlbut used his talent to aid Lincoln's election. The 16th president never forgot that, and during the Fort Sumter crisis, Lincoln sent Hurlbut to Charleston to investigate matters weeks before the war started.

Hurlbut's influence assured him a generalship less than two months after the shooting started. He was commissioned a general and much of his military career was a frustrating attempt to achieve the recognition that had so far eluded him. Much of it was due to his character flaws. He was an alcoholic given to cruelty and violence, even getting into a drunken rage and picking a fight with a teamster who proceeded to thrash him. In an age of corruption he was considered exceptional. He gambled away his money as a youth and resorted to cheating at cards, which was one of the reasons he fled South Carolina…"

Main page

link

Armand

Wikipedia: link

He is the husband of my 6th cousin three times removed.

General Hurlburt appears briefly in John Ford's film The Horse Soldiers.
Could that be 'the recognition that had so far eluded him'?

(smile)

Armand