I've been reading a lot of books about the Civil War, including biographies. Being a Hoosier in exile in Arkansas can do that to you.
The most interesting one I've read is the one I'm savoring now on my Kindle Paperwhite - Memoirs of the Confederate War for Independenceby Heros Von Borcke.
Von Borcke was a Prussian cavalry officer whose appetite for adventure inspired him to run the Union blockade and join the Army of Northern Virginia where he became a friend and confidante of the legendary J.E.B. Stuart. His dash and elan in battle earned him the admiration of such luminaries as Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee (whose 211th birthday is today).
He apparently kept a journal filled with exquisite details of the ebb and flow and the day-to-day life of a Confederate officer. He distinguished himself in combat and eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel before he was gravely wounded in fighting leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg. Following his recovery, Confederate States President Jefferson Davis sent him on a diplomatic mission to England where he was serving when the war ended in April, 1865.
After the war, he returned to Prussia and eventually bought an estate where he flew the Confederate flag over the battlements.
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