• A Michigan Cavalryman: The Life and Untimely Death of Major Noah Henry Ferry, Fifth Michigan Cavalry by Eric J. Wittenberg (Fox Run Pub, 2026).
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Booknotes: A Michigan Cavalryman
New Arrival:
• A Michigan Cavalryman: The Life and Untimely Death of Major Noah Henry Ferry, Fifth Michigan Cavalry by Eric J. Wittenberg (Fox Run Pub, 2026).
One of the publishers that the late Eric Wittenberg developed a close relationship with over his prolific writing career was Keith Jones's Fox Run Publishing. As indicated in this press release from back in late March of this year, Eric had a number of projects going at the time his health took a tragic turn for the worst. His final finished work, a biography of Union cavalry officer Noah Ferry, was entrusted to Fox Run and is getting a wide release starting today.
A Michigan Cavalryman: The Life and Untimely Death of Major Noah Henry Ferry, Fifth Michigan Cavalry is a "detailed portrait of a Civil War cavalry officer’s life, leadership, and sacrifice at Gettysburg, emphasizing his legacy and battlefield experiences."
From the description: "Noah Ferry was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Michigan. Major Ferry and his men were only in their second major combat on July 3, 1863, where his life ended abruptly." With the famed Michigan Brigade, Ferry was killed instantly during his regiment's dismounted fighting along a Rummel Farm fence line on what we now call East Cavalry Field.
More: Wittenberg's biography "presents the compelling tale of Ferry’s life, legacy, and military experience. We learn about Ferry’s family legacy, uncanny business and leadership abilities, and finally his rise in rank from captain of a company of cavalry to a charismatic major destined to sacrifice his life in a heretofore obscure farm field in Gettysburg." The main narrative runs a brisk 120 pages in largish font and is supported by eight maps and numerous illustrations.
• A Michigan Cavalryman: The Life and Untimely Death of Major Noah Henry Ferry, Fifth Michigan Cavalry by Eric J. Wittenberg (Fox Run Pub, 2026).
7 comments:
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The loss of Eric Wittenberg was such a tough one for the Civil War community. I treasure his books that I have in my collection and look forward to adding the ones still out there. His old blog was so fun in its heyday. As Mattie Ross says in 'True Grit': "Time just gets away from us".
ReplyDeleteI liked his blog, too. That early period of CW blogging was a fun time of interaction.
Delete'Rantings of a Civil War Historian' seemed to up until recently this year. Have to use the Wayback Machine as there was some great, priceless stuff on there. I loved when he would rip into things. Hilarious.
DeleteHi Chris, the old URL just shows "Account Suspended" now. Hopefully, someone saved all the material posted on it.
DeleteI hadn't heard of this one before Eric's untimely death but I'm not surprised. He always had multiple projects underway in different stages of completion at any given time - in addition to operating his law practice. Those I knew of from him were probably just the "tip of the iceberg". "Prolific" hardly suffices to describe Eric. And, as Drew mentions, he managed to keep his blog site updated as well.
ReplyDeleteI certainly miss Eric and of course we publish more of his books than anyone else and we had a very close relationship, both of us being attorneys so we discussed a lot of things that had nothing to do with history. We have a complete manuscript " The Cavalry Battle at Orange Courthouse, Virginia, August 2 1862." This is from his Preface:
ReplyDelete"This is the first detailed tactical treatment of the fighting at Orange Court House yet written, and it is probably long overdue. This study will address the background of the fight at Orange Court House, including the personalities involved. It will then address the specifics of the fighting, and will conclude by putting this action in its proper context."
It's short and probably will go on our Battles and Leaders series but it's really good and I hope to have it out in the summer of 2027.
-- Ted Savas, Savas Beatie
Thanks for the news tip, Ted. We'll look forward to seeing it.
Delete