Unhonored Service: The Life of Lee's Senior Cavalry Commander, Colonel Thomas Taylor Munford, CSA

Thomas Taylor Munford was the most senior, and probably the most important, cavalry colonel in Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. As a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Munford was well placed, but not a member of the West Point military elite. This likely contributed to his being overlooked repeatedly for promotion to brigadier general, despite having commanded Fitzhugh Lee’s brigade in some of the war’s most important battles and commanding a division at the end of the war.

Bitterness over these snubs and other issues led to Munford’s famous feud with Major General Thomas L. Rosser, the subject of author Sheridan Barringer’s previous work. Col. Munford wrote prolifically about his experiences in the war and provided much insight into important officers within the cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. Munford richly deserved promotion, but never received it. He was understandably bitter about it, and that bitterness tainted his post–war observations. Many of his old comrades also believed he was deserving of promotion to general.

During his own life, Tom Munford played a prominent role in shaping the historical narrative about the war in Virginia. His massive effort has resulted in a true wealth of information, spread to a number of archives, for which the modern Civil War historian owes a great debt. Barringer provides great detail of Munford’s life on the battlefield and beyond. This work brings the reader into Munford’s family, early life, days at VMI, the war, and his post-war career.