林肯的雄狮：马丁·戴维斯·哈丁准将的一生和时代

2017年佛罗里达图书节历史类亚军
这是第一本关于一位杰出年轻人一生的传记，用内战历史学家埃兹拉·沃纳的话说，他“开始了一段在陆军史上几乎没有相似之处的战斗生涯，英勇无畏、伤痕累累，在他去世前的一代人中默默无闻。”
但马丁·哈丁将军的故事提供的不仅仅是一个战斗记录，事实上还包括一次穿越19世纪美国的徒步旅行，而这场代价最高的战争只是其中的一个核心。从他在伊利诺伊州的童年，一个奴隶女孩在他身上植入了对鬼魂的恐惧，到他与其他未来的杰出人物一起参加西点军校，再到他在边境服役（他在那里特别注意到夏延人的风度），哈丁的生活揭示了一个世纪的进步。
亚伯拉罕·林肯是马丁父亲的密友和政治盟友，马丁父亲在墨西哥战争中英勇牺牲。这家人也是玛丽·托德的亲戚。哈丁在27岁时被任命为准将，他在马尔文山、第二马纳萨斯、葛底斯堡、格兰特的陆上战役以及1864年7月叛军对华盛顿的突袭中表现出色。他四次受伤，两次差点丧命，在战争中失去了一只胳膊。有一次，他在路上遭到莫斯比手下的伏击，其中一人可能是林肯的同谋刘易斯·潘恩。林肯遇刺后，哈丁本人参与了对约翰·威尔克斯·布斯的追捕。
作为哈代的母亲，我们也了解到她在战争时期的社会领袖角色。四年来，她巧妙地利用了与总统和第一夫人的友谊，推动了儿子的事业。尽管如此，正如我们在这几页中看到的，他在战斗中的英勇和领导能力足以让他声名远扬，在这本书中，一位真正的19世纪英雄的功绩终于被揭示出来。
获得吉尔德·莱尔曼奖提名
Lincoln’s Bold Lion: The Life and Times of Brigadier General Martin Davis Hardin
Runner-Up in the 2017 Florida Book Festival History Category
This is the first biography devoted to the life of a remarkable young man who, in the words of Civil War historian Ezra Warner, “embarked upon a combat career which has few parallels in the annals of the army for gallantry, wounds sustained, and the obscurity into which he had lapsed a generation before his death.”
But the story of General Martin Hardin provides more than a combat record—in fact comprises a walking tour through 1800s America, with its most costly war only a centerpiece. From his childhood in Illinois, where a slave girl implanted in him a fear of ghosts, to his attendance at West Point, along with other future luminaries, to his service on the frontier (where he took particular note of the bearing of the Cheyenne), Hardin’s life reveals the progress of a century.
Abraham Lincoln was a close friend and political ally of Martin’s father, who died a hero in the Mexican War. The family were also relatives of Mary Todd. Made Brigadier General at age 27, Hardin fought with distinction at Malvern Hill, Second Manassas, Gettysburg, Grant’s Overland Campaign, and the July 1864 Rebel raid on Washington. He was wounded four times, nearly died on two occasions, and lost an arm during the war. On one occasion he was ambushed on a road by Mosby’s men, one of whom may have been Lincoln conspirator Lewis Paine. Hardin himself took part in the hunt for John Wilkes Booth after Lincoln’s assassination.
In these pages we also learn the prominent role of General Hardin’s mother, who acted as her son’s lobbyist in the heady social world of wartime Washington. Over four years, she skillfully played upon her friendship with the President and the First Lady to advance her son‘s career. Although, as we see in these pages, his gallantry and leadership in combat sufficed enough to earn him renown, and in this book the under-sung exploits of a true 19th-century hero are finally revealed.
Nominated for the Gilder Lehrman Prize

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