Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack - 224 battle plans and campaign maps "Descended from English and colonial high society-Newhall lived a life of privilege and opportunity. When the war erupted Newhall enlisted in the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry and served his various assignments honorably as he rose through the ranks until attaining the position of assistant adjutant to General Sheridan in Feb. 1865. "This memoir serves two purposes…Newhall not only rehashes the climactic days of April 1865, he acts as defense counsel for Sheridan's misunderstood character and for his contentious decision to remove Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren from command of the Fifth Corps following the Union victory at Five Forks. "Newhall opens his memoir with a fiercely loyal vindication of General Sheridan the man and General Sheridan the soldier. Habits common to many Civil War soldiers like cigars and swearing were apparently comfortable within the confines of Philip Sheridan...He then seeks to secure the Union Cavalry's nascent reputation as a valuable component of the Union war effort. "Newhall's rabid defense of Sheridan then subsides as he trades the pulpit for a podium. He describes in surprising detail the progressions of Five Forks and Saylor's Creek as well as the fracases, reconnaissance missions, and "rides" between the two battles. The battle descriptions emphasize the labors of the Union horsemen but do not ignore the infantry and give appropriate credit where it is due. "The longest portion of the memoir not only recounts the battles fought but leads the reader on a tour of the final footsteps of both armies making temporal and spatial sense of places like Dinwiddie Courthouse, Jetersville, Burkeville, Prince Edward Courthouse, Appomattox Station, and Appomattox Courthouse. A series of maps helps the reader though this section of the memoir and is invaluable in their assistance."- Chuck Romig, The Civil War News