Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., is a New York Times-lauded historian and award-winning author of more than 40 books in multiple fields of history. He has published numerous books that have taken a fresh "New Look" at key events and crucial turning point moments in American history. Tucker has long focused on breaking new ground in the field of Civil War history, especially the all-important Battle of Gettysburg. The author's books are regularly featured as selections of the History Book Club and the Military Book Club. America's leading experts and authorities have long praised Tucker's "New Look" books for their ground-breaking contributions in multiple fields of American history.Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D.’s most recent ground-breaking work, The Irish at Gettysburg (History Press), reconsiders one of the Civil War’s emblematic battles from the unique perspective of the Irish-descended and Irish-born soldiers of both sides who fought there with courage and distinction from July 1 to July 3, 1863. Most importantly, this is the first book that has explored in detail the untold story of the Irish on both sides during the most important battle of the Civil War. These men of Irish heritage made up the bulwark of General Robert E. Lee’s troops of the Army of Northern Virginia and engaged in hard-fought, high attrition efforts--the tactical offensive--during all three days of combat. They were also well represented in the Union ranks and resolutely defended against the most crucial breakthrough during Pickett’s Charge, which was the Confederacy’s “high-water mark” during the four-year conflict. Here, the Irish of Pickett's Virginia Division met the Irish of the Philadelphia Brigade during the bloody showdown at the "high-water mark."Weakened by heavy artillery fire, the hard-fighting regiments of the Irish Brigade were able to muster a charge that temporarily halted a concerted Confederate attack that threatened to outflank and overwhelm a weak link in the Union line. Just before this charge, Father William Corby, the inspirational brigade chaplain, stood on a rocky outcropping as the men of the Irish Brigade knelt and provided general absolution, before they entered the raging battle. Today, an impressive statue of Father Corby at Gettysburg pays an appropriate tribute to this spiritual contribution that fueled the combat prowess of the Irish Brigade on July 2. The legacy of the Irish Brigade is also still reflected in the Irish Brigade Monument at Gettysburg, which features a granite base and Celtic cross and stands nearly 20 feet tall. Dedicated in 1888 and sculpted by an Irish Confederate veteran who fought at Gettysburg, the sculpture also features a full-sized Irish wolfhound, which represents the honor and fidelity of the Irish soldiers.All in all, Tucker's The Irish at Gettysburg has presented a fresh "New Look" view to illuminate the important roles played by the Irish on both sides during the bloody three days of the most crucial battle of the Civil War--a valuable and important book.
Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., is the author of more than 40 books in multiple fields of history. Dr. Tucker has emerged as America's leading "New Look" historian for presenting a large number of highly original historical narratives over an extended period of time. Tucker earned three degrees in history, including a Ph.D. from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. After earning his Ph.D., Tucker served for more than two decades as a professional historian for the Department of Defense (DoD), primarily in the Washington, D.C., area.Tucker's most recent book, "The Irish at Gettysburg," has continued the author's notable penchant of presenting ground-breaking works in long-overlooked fields of history. For the first time, Tucker has presented the fascinating story of the heroic Irish who fought on both sides during the most important and largest battle of the Civil War, the dramatic showdown at Gettysburg from July 1 to July 3, 1863. After more than 150 years, the story of "The Irish at Gettysburg" was long overdue in the crowded field of Civil War and Gettysburg history. The hard-fighting Irish have come vividly to life in his important book.Most importantly, he has written extensively on the history of women in America, especially those whose lives have intersected with military actions, including during the Texas Revolution, the Civil War and post-Civil War service in the American West. In such ground-breaking books as "Cathy Williams, From Slave to Female Buffalo Soldier," and "America's Female Buffalo Soldier, A New Look at the Life of Cathy Williams in History and Memory," and "Anne Bonny, Infamous Female Pirate," the author has emphasized the struggle for equality of these remarkable women whose lives have been long ignored.One woman Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., has covered in great detail is Emily D. West, a resourceful and enterprising African American woman whose participation in the Texas Revolution has been extensively mythologized in the American West. In the myth, West, sometimes known as Emily Morgan, was a slave taken captive by Mexican General Santa Anna. She is said to have distracted the general in his tent with her charm and good looks, delaying his response to Sam Houston's surprise attack and changing the course of the Texas Revolution. The myth was told for more than 100 years, and saw her identified with the girl immortalized in the song “The Yellow Rose of Texas.”The truth, however, is not so fanciful. West was not a slave, but a free woman, and could not have had any foreknowledge of General Houston's plans of attack. It does seem likely that she was one of many taken prisoner at the battle of San Jacinto, Texas, however, and records of a passport application substantiate the idea with a mention that she had lost identifying documents (her papers as a free black woman) at the battleground and had come from New York to Texas alongside Col. James Morgan.
Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., has authored more than 40 books of distinction on a wide variety of subjects in the field of history. He has written extensively on many aspects of American history, making important contributions by breaking much new ground in multiple fields of history. Because of his many key contributions in the writing of original and thoughtful history to present fresh perspectives and new views, Dr. Tucker has emerged today as America's leading "New Look" historian. Tucker earned three degrees in American history, including a Ph.D. from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. After earning his Ph.D., Tucker then embarked upon a career as a professional historian for the Department of Defense, serving for more than two decades.One figure who Dr. Tucker has written on in great detail is Alexander Hamilton, known to most Americans better for his service as Secretary of the Treasury, his tempestuous personal life, and his appearance on the ten dollar bill than for his military exploits. Tucker has told the fascinating story behind the popular Broadway play "Hamilton" in his ground-breaking book "Alexander Hamilton's Revolution, His Vital Role as Washington's Chief of Staff." Tucker also wrote about Hamilton's key contributions, as a young artillery officer, during Washington's crossing and at the battle of Trenton in his ground-breaking "Washington's Surprise Attack, A New Look at the Battle that Decided the Fate of America."Hamilton's first military title was Captain of the Provincial Company of Artillery in New York, and he displayed a talent for leadership and logistics early on. In this role, he not only had to recruit and train artillerists, but also had to find ways to feed, clothe, and pay them. A former mercantile clerk and an avid student of artillery warfare, Hamilton proved conscientious and effective in this role, despite difficulties securing funding from the provincial congress.Most of Hamilton's early successes, however, came under less-than-glorious circumstances. His primary role for much of the early period of the American Revolution was to cover the Continental Army as it gradually retreated westward. Ultimately, though, his coverage of these retreats proved effective and important, providing the Continental Army a chance to recover and resupply, and even sometimes securing the surrender of Hessian mercenaries employed by the British. Hamilton's day of glory came in leading the daring attack that captured a key strategist redoubt at Yorktown that played a large role in forcing Lord Charles Cornwallis to surrender the town--a turning point of not only the American Revolution, but also in world history.
Former Department of Defense historian and award-winning writer Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., has written extensively on the history of long-forgotten women in the military to reveal their heroism and sacrifices for the first time. Cathy Williams: From Slave to Buffalo Soldier by Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D., focuses on Cathy Williams, a woman who served in the Buffalo Soldiers on the Santa Fe Trail under the name William Cathay. Dr. Tucker's most recent look at the remarkable life of Cathy Williams was published in the summer of 2017, America's Female Buffalo Soldier, A New Look at the Life of Cathy Williams in History and Memory.Cathy Williams was born into slavery in 1944, working as a house servant near Jefferson City. At the age of 17 she was captured by the Union Army and pressed into service as a cook and washerwoman, traveling with infantry regiments and eventually working at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. After the Civil War, when several of her family members enlisted into the army, she decided to enlist at Jefferson Barracks as well, and was assigned to Company A of the 38th United States Infantry, a Buffalo Soldier Regiment, under the name William Cathay.However, her military service from 1866 to 1868 was short-lived, as Cathy spent much of her career in the military dealing with smallpox, though her gender was not discovered through her numerous hospitalizations. Unfortunately, two years after she enlisted a military surgeon discovered her true identity and she was discharged. But she left behind an enduring legacy as America's first and only female Buffalo Soldier, who performed her assigned duties exceptionally well. Cathy then became a pioneer on the western frontier, finding a permanent home in the West.
Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D, studied history to earn a Ph.D. at prestigious St. Louis University and gained more than two decades of experience as a professional military historian with the Department of Defense, including in Washington, D.C. Over the course of his distinguished historian career outside of the DoD, Phillip Thomas Tucker, Ph.D, has published more than 30 books, including Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution: His Vital Role as Washington's Chief of Staff.Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution examines the unique and often overlooked role the revered American politician played during the Revolutionary War. The only notable founding father not born and raised on American soil, Hamilton is best known for his work as Secretary of the Treasury under America’s first political leader, President George Washington. However, as Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution illustrates, this young native West Indian established himself as Washington’s preferred staff officer and spending four years at headquarters as Washington’s Chief of Staff during the nation’s battle for independence.The book additionally chronicles Hamilton’s desire and fierce ambition to make a more distinguished name for himself as a field officer leading troops on the battlefield, which he did in magnificent fashion with a significant victory over General Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781. Alexander Hamilton’s Revolution (Skyhorse Publishing) can be purchased from most major book distributors.
