Edward Porter Alexander (American National Biography)

Alexander's most enduring postwar legacy was a body of writings about his Confederate service. He published important essays in the popular Battles and Leaders of the Civil War series (4 vols., 1887-1888), the Southern Historical Society Papers ("The Seven Days Battle" [Jan. 1876]; "Causes of Lee's Defeat at Gettysburg" [Sept. 1877]; "Sketch of Longstreet's Division" [Oct., Nov., and Dec. 1881 and Jan.-Feb. 1882]; "The Battle of Fredericksburg" [Aug.-Sept. 1882 and Oct.-Nov. 1882]; and "Confederate Artillery Service" [Feb.-Mar. 1883]), and the 1908 Annual Report of the American Historical Association. While in Nicaragua, he wrote a long memoir intended for his family (published in 1989 as Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander, ed. Gary W. Gallagher), which he revised heavily to produce Military Memoirs of a Confederate: A Critical Narrative (1907). Unmatched among the writings of ex-Confederates for their impartiality and brilliant analysis, Alexander's two reminiscences also offer splendid anecdotes about prominent individuals and famous events.