General Washington's Commando explores the dynamic Revolutionary War career of Benjamin Tallmadge whose multi-faceted career included operations as a dragoon commander, intelligence and counter-intelligence officer and master of combined land-sea operations. Tallmadge fought in the Battles of Long Island, White Plains, and Germantown and defended the Patriot population in the no-man's-land of Westchester County against British and Tory raiders. After Washington rewarded him with his own legion, he unleashed bold raids on British-occupied Long Island from his bases in Connecticut. All the while, he ran Washington's most active espionage ring in New York and Long Island. Reversing roles, he played a key role in foiling Benedict Arnold's plot to betray the American stronghold of West Point to the British. Tallmadge's Revolutionary service graphically illuminates the struggle in the region which witnessed the most continuous, relentless, often pitiless, fighting of the struggle. In particular, the book describes the internecine quality of the fighting in politically divided Long Island and Westchester and details how the struggle continued without letup even after Yorktown. Though Tallmadge's fascinating post-war career receives careful attention, the book focuses on his Revolutionary War service.

Drawing heavily on primary source material, The Boy General is the first full-length account of a remarkable man whose life and careers -- lawyer, soldier, politician -- illuminate the dramatic changes which transformed American life in the nineteenth century. His Civil War career, comprising the bulk of the book, encompassed almost all the major campaigns in Virginia. Beginning the war as a private and rising to major general, Barlow garnered the reputation as a combat leader of unusual pugnacity and effectiveness. Twice wounded, at Antietam and Gettysburg, he played a key role in the desperate fighting which marked Grant's 1864-65 campaign against Lee. After Appomattox, Barlow returned to civilian life and entered New York State politics. Although he was an effective attorney general, initiating suits against the Tweed Ring, his unfiltered honesty harmed him politically. His public refusal to support his party's efforts during the disputed election of 1876 effectively ended his governmental prospects and he ended his life in private law practice.