General Jo Shelby - by Daniel O'Flaherty (Paperback)

About the Book

This biography reveals General Joseph Orville Shelby as perhaps the best--and certainly the most colorful--Confederate cavalry leader in the Civil War battles that took place in the West.

Book Synopsis

This vivid work, first published by UNC Press in 1954, reveals General Joseph Orville Shelby as one of the best Confederate cavalry leaders--and certainly the most colorful.
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, but drawn by the promise of the growing West, Shelby became one of the richest men in Missouri. Siding with the Confederacy at the outbreak of the Civil War, he organized his Iron Brigade of cavalry--whose ranks included Frank and Jesse James--taught his men a slashing frontier style of fighting, and led them on incredible raids against Federal forces in Missouri. When the Confederacy fell, Shelby refused to surrender and instead took his command to Mexico, where they fought in support of the emperor Maximilian. Upon his return to Missouri, Shelby became an immensely popular figure in the state, eventually attaining the status of folk hero, a living symbol of the Civil War in the West.

"O'Flaherty has written a first-rate book . . . combining careful scholarship with the ability to tell a story in an engaging manner.--Saturday Review

"An interesting and readable life story of a long neglected Confederate general.--Military Affairs

Review Quotes

O'Flaherty has written a first-rate book .

Bruce Catton, "Saturday Review"

"O'Flaherty has written a first-rate book .

Bruce Catton, "Saturday Review""

An interesting and readable life story of a long neglected Confederate general.

"Military Affairs"

The book is attractively written and holds the reader closely to the end.

"American Historical Review"