Michigan’s Civil War Citizen-General Alpheus S. Williams
Detroit’s Alpheus Starkey Williams never tired in service to his city or his country. A veteran of the Mexican-American War, he was a preeminent military figure in Michigan before the Civil War.
He was key to the Lost Order, the Battle of Gettysburg, the March to the Sea and the Carolinas Campaign. His generalship at Antietam made possible the Emancipation Proclamation, and Meade and Sherman relied on his unshakable leadership. A steady hand in wartime and in peacetime, Williams was a Yale graduate, lawyer, judge, editor, municipal official, militia officer, diplomat and congressman who stood on principle over party.
With vivid battlefield accounts based on extensive primary research, award-winning author Jack Dempsey’s masterful biography tells the amazing story of this unsung hero.
Michigan’s Civil War Citizen-General Alpheus S. Williams
Reviews of Michigan and the Civil War
“Very good biography of one of the most overlooked Union generals of the Civil War. He was solid and dependable in every assignment he held. Hats off to the author. Easy reading and well sourced. Should be read alongside Williams Memorir- From the Cannons’s Mouth. A real classic.
I enjoyed this biography of one of the "B List Generals" of the American Civil War.
A.S. Williams got his appointment as a Brigadier General (same time as Grant and Sherman) because of his prewar experience in the Militia. His next promotion to brevet Major General happened in March of 65 when the war was almost over. He spent most of the war as a division commander with the exceptions of the battles of Antietam and Gettysburg. In those two battles he served as acting corpse commander. He was promoted to corpse commander for the March to the Sea.
A.S. Williams was involved with 3 legendary civil war events. 1 The Lost Orders were turned in to his HQ's. 2. Stonewall Jackson was shot after scouting his lines. 3. It was his men who beat General Ewill to the top of that hill.
I enjoyed the last chapter which deals with how A.S. Williams has been remembered (or not) over the last 140 years.
