Dread Danger

Lesley J. Gordon is the Charles G. Summersell Chair of Southern History at the University of Alabama. Her publications include General George E. Pickett in Life and Legend (1998) and A Broken Regiment: The 16th Connecticut's Civil War (2014).

• Introduction: 'Almost Enough to Make Cowards of the Bravest Men'; Part I. The 11th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment: 1. 'Soldiers, and Yet Not Soldiers': New York & Washington, D. C.; 2. 'Effervescent Courage': Virginia; 3. 'Soul Sick': Virginia & New York; Part II. The 2nd Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment: 4. 'The Display of Soldiery': Texas; 5. 'A Pack of Cowards': Tennessee & Mississippi; 6. 'A Skeleton of Itself': Mississippi & Texas; Conclusion: 'When Cowards Shrink and Brave Men Die'; Bibliography.

'Despite a rich literature on US Civil War soldier motivation, surprisingly few scholars have examined the topic of military cowardice. Lesley Gordon's beautifully crafted work offers a compelling case study of two units that reveals the Civil War generations' near obsession with the subject and why it should matter to us, too.' Susannah J. Ural, Williams Chair, Mississippi State University