Chatham Roberdeau Wheat has rightly been called the grandest of Civil War heroes. Born a Virginia gentleman, this handsome giant was by turns lawyer, politician, filibusterer, wit, bon vivant, and soldier of fortune. Perhaps the most experienced soldier on either side at the outbreak of the Civil War, Wheat led the Louisiana Tigers notorious as the wildest battalion in either army in some of the war s bloodiest battles, including Bull Run, the Valley,...