Mounted Warriors: From Alexander the Great and Cromwell to Stuart, Sheridan, and Custer
It may startle some people to remember that, little more than a century ago, the horse was not only humanity's primary means of swift transportation, it was also a major participant in warfare. For more than four thousand years, men mounted horses and galloped at one another in large numbers, wielding clubs, axes, lances, swords, bows and arrows, pistols, rifles, and more. They charged into swarms of arrows, hales of bullets, volcanoes of cannon fire, and legions of other men on horseback, chopping, stabbing, hurling spears, and firing guns. And their exploits became the stuff of romance, drama, and legend.
Mounted Warriors brings you back through the millennia to discover the beginnings and the development of warfare on horseback and meet some of the most remarkable, daring, and courageous men who ever spurred a charger from trot to gallop. You'll find out how Alexander trained Bucephalus to the saddle when all others failed, how Cromwell was transformed by battle, what several British generals had to say about Light-Horse Harry Lee, and why Phil Sheridan changed his horse's name. You'll even learn how the romantic novels of Sir Walter Scott influenced the nature of the American Civil War.
The age of the cavalry charge may be past, but when you read Mounted Warriors, you'll rediscover all of its drama, pageantry, and glory.
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Book details
- Author
- Gene Smith
- Imprint
- Trade Paper Press, an imprint of Turner Publishing Company
- Published
- Pages
- 336
- Formats
- Hardcover
- Subjects
- History › Military
- Topics
- cavalry history · military history · warfare on horseback · American Civil War · ancient warriors · horse soldiers · military leaders
- ISBN-13
- 9780471783329
About the author
GENE SMITH was an American biographer and popular historian who authored 19 books, including the 1964 New York Times bestseller When the Cheering Stopped: The Last Years of Woodrow Wilson. His recent books include Mounted Warriors: From Alexander the Great and Cromwell to Stuart, Sheridan and Custer, Until the Last Trumpet Sounds: The Life of General of the Armies John J. Pershing and Lee and Grant: A Dual Biography.
Smith held a degree in history from the University of Wisconsin and worked as a journalist at Newsweek, The Newark Star-Ledger and The New York Post before writing books full-time. He was a long-time contributor to American Heritage magazine.
Smith served in the U.S. Army in Germany in the early 1950s and his work centered on military and political biography. He died on July 25, 2012, in Poughkeepsie, New York, at the age of 83.