John E. Talbott Volgorde van de boeken (chronologisch)

For more than 150 years, the story of the First West Tennessee Cavalry U.S.A. (renamed the Sixth Tennessee Cavalry) has been told from the perspectives of Col. Fielding Hurst, his critics, and his defenders. Now the story of this misunderstood irregular Union cavalry regiment is portrayed through the eyes and emotions of his second-in-command, Lt. Col. William K.M. Breckenridge. Long silenced by death and the mist of history, Breckenridge's journal retells the regiment's story. His contemporary voice and facts drawn from period documents provide a far clearer portrait than previously available.Through careful and detailed research, In The Shadow of the Devil debunks many legends and folklore regarding both Fielding Hurst and the First West Tennessee Cavalry. Further, the reputations of the soldiers themselves are somewhat restored as the specific war crimes of a few are detailed. A life too long hidden by death and the fog of history emerges with a strong and compelling voice. Now allowed to speak, that voice tells a story both convincing and historically significant.

It was a tumultuous time for the United States and the world. Both had endured the Great Depression and now the Second World War. Millions of young men grew up knowing poverty and working their way into manhood only to be confronted with a greater threat -- the fascist Axis powers. Still, they threw themselves into the greatest conflict in world history. One of those brave young men was Luther Edward "Junior" Talbott, from the small town of Finger, Tennessee. Since early in life, Junior had yearned for travel and a sense of adventure and experience. Prior to the outbreak of the war, he had traveled to find work in Missouri and the Texas Panhandle. Then in 1942, he volunteered to fight. Armed with a high aptitude for mathematics, he was given the opportunity to use his skills for his country. By the time he came home in 1945, he had participated in the campaigns of Normandy (D-Day), the fall of Cherbourg, France, the invasion of Southern France, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. As he would often say, it was all "a hell of a sight to see!"