All men may be created equal but they are remembered differently. In contrast to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, August Willich was not a celebrity of the Civil War. He was a Prussian political refugee and an aristocrat with an unapologetic communistic political leaning. Willch’s communistic nature generated his pre-war nickname, “Reddest of the Red.” Yet, his tremendous contributions...
James A. Garfield was by definition an opportunist, he used even his failures in life to present a heroic image and thus propel himself into political office. Such was the case when he beseeched his commanding officer after their position had been overrun and he desired to be where the Union was winning the battle (and thus seen as victorious), “Let me go to the front… It is dangerous, but the...