In 1861 Mississippian Earl Van Dorn entered the Confederate Army, heralded as one of its most gifted officers. Few men of his age had more military experience. Van Dorn had already distinguished himself in the Mexican War and in the Indian Wars along the Texas-Oklahoma border. His friend Jefferson Davis expected great things of him.

When it came to large-scale military initiatives, however, Van Dorn was remarkable for his failures. His tactical blunders at the battles of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, and Corinth, Mississippi, contributed greatly to the end of the Confederate military advantage in the Civil War.

The intrigue and scandals that figured in his personal life, even at the height of the War, led directly to his murder and the mystery that still surrounds it. Van Dorn’s dishonorable death concludes Hartje’s fascinating account of a checkered career and the role Earl Van Dorn played in the great tragedy of the Civil War.
 

Robert G. Hartje (1922-2020) held bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from Vanderbilt University. He taught at Wittenberg University from 1956 until his retirement in 1988. He served as chair of the history department and director of American Studies.