Overview
St. John Richardson Liddell (1815-1870), the commander of Patrick Cleburne's splendid Arkansas Brigade in its battles from Perryville to Chickamauga, was a conspicuous combat leader in the Army of Tennessee and an important eyewitness to the making of history. A prominent Louisiana planter, Liddell also served on the staffs of P.G.T. Beauregard, William J. Hardee, and Albert Sidney Johnston during the conflict and traveled in the upper circles of the Confederate military and political high command. In 1866, disillusioned and embittered by defeat, Liddell penned his memoirs for his sons "with the hope that the truth [would] impress [them] with the instability of all human calculations." More than a description of his wartime experiences, Liddell's Record is one man's judgment on why the Confederacy failed, offering blunt, often harsh criticisms of Confederate leadership and fellow soldiers rarely found in such personal accounts.Synopsis
St. John Richardson Liddell (1815-1870), the commander of Patrick Cleburne's splendid Arkansas Brigade in its battles from Perryville to Chickamauga, was a conspicuous combat leader in the Army of Tennessee and an important eyewitness to the making of history. A prominent Louisiana planter, Liddell also served on the staffs of P.G.T. Beauregard, William J. Hardee, and Albert Sidney Johnston during the conflict and traveled in the upper circles of the Confederate military and political high command. In 1866, disillusioned and embittered by defeat, Liddell penned his memoirs for his sons "with the hope that the truth [would] impress [them] with the instability of all human calculations." More than a description of his wartime experiences, Liddell's Record is one man's judgment on why the Confederacy failed, offering blunt, often harsh criticisms of Confederate leadership and fellow soldiers rarely found in such personal accounts.