Colonel Edward E. Cross New Hampshire Fighting Fifth

<p> Edward Ephraim Cross (1832-1863) accomplished more in his short lifetime years than most men who live to be 100. By the eve of the Civil War he had traveled from Cincinnati to Arizona working as a political reporter travel writer editor trail hand silver mine supervisor and Indian fighter. In the summer of 1861 he became colonel of the Fighting Fifth New Hampshire Volunteers and gained fame as a fearless battlefield commander during action at Fair Oaks Antietam Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville before being mortally wounded at Gettysburg. However behind this great soldier lay a flawed man an alcoholic with a short temper who fought a constant battle with words against immigrants abolitionists and others with whom he disagreed. This detailed biography presents a full portrait of this controversial and little-known figure filling a critical gap in the literature of the northern Civil War experience.</p>