Winfield Scott Hancock gained his greatest fame for his crucial contributions to the Federal victory at Gettysburg. Union veterans remembered Hancock as a general who led from the front and whose forceful presence could change the course of a battle. In addition to the Civil War, Hancock’s military service included dramatic experiences during the Mexican-American War, Reconstruction, and the Indian wars. He also pursued a national political career, which ended in an unsuccessful try for the presidency in 1880.

This lively biography introduces readers to an American soldier who put his mark on many of the important military and political events of his lifetime.