Brigadier General John A Rawlins (Union) To describe Rawlins’ beard as straggly would be a
Brigadier General John A Rawlins (Union) To describe Rawlins’ beard as straggly would be an understatement. It’s curiously asymmetrical, with a huge chunk at one side which seems to veer off at a strange angle. Given the novelty of photography in the 1860s, you’d think he’d have put a comb through it, at least. When the war began Rawlins was a lawyer, not a soldier. He became a volunteer aide to Ulysses S Grant, and soon joined the Union Army, staying with Grant throughout the war and beyond. This was the equivalent of backing the right horse, as it was Grant who ultimately succeeded where several others had failed in defeating Robert E Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Rawlins was promoted to Brigadier General but his main role was as an administrator rather than a soldier. History also credits him with keeping Grant off the booze - if true then perhaps his most valuable achievement in the Union cause. When Grant became President he chose Rawlins as Secretary of War, but he died of tuberculosis shortly after. -- source link
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