Preview: Scott Mingus, Sr., “William ‘Extra Billy’ Smith”

New from Savas Beatie is Scott L. Mingus, Sr.’s bio Confederate General William “Extra Billy” Smith: From Virginia’s Statehouse to Gettysburg Scapegoat. In the interest of full disclosure, I read the First Bull Run portion of this book prior to publication, and my name appears in the acknowledgements (my ego thanks you, Scott.) Smith, a career politician, pre-War and Civil War Governor of Virginia, and U. S. Congressman, commanded the 49th Virginia Infantry Battalion at First Bull Run, where, depending on who tells the story, he either distinguished himself or proved a general nuisance to everyone with whom he came into contact. Two years later in Pennsylvania he reported sightings of an enemy on the flank which are the subject of much discussion 150 years later.

Weighing in at 386 pages of narrative, with an additional addendum addressing Smith at Gettysburg, Mr. Mingus drew extensively on newspaper articles and manuscript sources, in addition to numerous published works in constructing this biography of a man both well-known (thanks to one of the cooler nicknames of the war) and shadowy. Typically clear Hal Jesperson maps and little-seen photos and illustrations lend visual emphasis to the narrative. Check it out!