Kentucky's Last Cavalier: General William Preston, 1816-1887 (review)

The South experienced many hardships during and after the Civil War, some physical, others social. Physical destruction is tangible and easily repaired whereas the social and emotional hardships of elite Southerners can only be revealed through their lives. Peter J. Sehlinger, professor emeritus at Indiana University, Bloomington, reveals a generation of elites in the South, their thoughts, beliefs, and social and racial structure, through the life of William Preston. Preston belonged to the generation of planters indoctrinated in the culture of the Old South and lived to witness the changes in Southern society produced after the Civil War. Through futile attempts, Preston tried to maintain the old order of the South, as did many of his peers.

Preston, though raised in Kentucky, held a strong attachment to his family's roots in Virginia and fought to maintain the social rank given to him at birth. Similar to other young men from prominent families, Preston attended college and law school and became a lawyer so as to uphold the family's social status by gaining prominence through politics. Through his political career, he fought to maintain slavery as a Whig in Congress. Resembling other Southern elites, he strengthened family bonds by marrying his cousin Martha and named his children after family members. Through strong familial bonds, the family retained its influence and Preston received an appointment as Minister to Spain through his cousin John C. Breckinridge, vice president under James Buchanan. He continued his political career during the Civil War as Minister to Mexico for the Confederacy after serving under his brother-in-law Albert Sidney Johnston at the battle of Shiloh, leading troops at Stone's River, and reaching the zenith of his military career at Chickamauga's Snodgrass Hill. Though intelligent and diligent, Preston's political career bore little fruit since he failed to maintain slavery, his attempts to acquire Cuba from Spain failed, and Mexico did not to recognize the sovereignty of the Confederacy. After the war, Preston continued to work hard in politics to maintain his ideals of the Old South, which created hardships for him and his family. The stress drove the Kentuckian deep into debt and strained his relationship with his wife. He died a man devoted to the Lost Cause and known in his circle of friends as "Kentucky's last cavalier."

Through clear and entertaining prose, as well as the words of Preston and his contemporaries, Sehlinger does an excellent job of revealing life in Kentucky and the South before, during, and after the Civil War through the many details of William Preston's life. The author provides a well-balanced approach to the subject by including the social roles of husbands and wives and slave owners and slaves in the Old South, the economic and political aspects of being a Southern gentleman, and the role of the family in Southern life. Additionally, Sehlinger supplies background information on the early history of Kentucky and all the people and events throughout Preston's life, allowing readers with any amount of historical knowledge to understand what role his life played in American history. I recommend this book for anybody interested in Kentucky history, Southern history, and the Civil War.