Phil Kearny entered Union service in 1861 as perhaps the most experienced officer on either side at the outbreak of the conflict. Why then did Kearny initially struggle to obtain a commission in the Union Army? How did his breath of experience, of differing scales of warfare on three continents, affect his approach to command in the Civil War? How did Kearny manage to leave his mark on the Union Army after his death? Above all was he the “bravest man and most perfect soldier” as Winfield Scott thought, or a commander limited by his “inflexible arrogance and... irresponsible recklessness” as Stephen W Sears has concluded? Ryan Diamond’s talk discusses all these questions and more…
20 окт 2024
