John Brown Gordon's career of prominent public service spanned four of America's most turbulent decades. Born in Upson County, Georgia, in 1832, Gordon was a successful businessman when, in 1861, he responded to the Confederate call to arms by raising a company of volunteers. His subsequent rise from captain to corps commander was unmatched in the Army of Northern Virginia. He emerged from the Civil War as one of the South's most respected generals. After the war, Gordon entered politics. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1873 and in the 1880s served as governor of Georgia,...