Synopses & Reviews
Known for his fearlessness in both the political arena and the battlefield, Frank Blair is a Missouri legend. As a member of one of the most prominent and powerful political families in America during the nineteenth century, possibly the equivalent of the twentieth-century Kennedys, Frank was steeped in politics at an early age. The youngest son of Francis Preston Blair, editor of Andrew Jackson's Washington Globe and adviser to Presidents Andrew Jackson through Andrew Johnson, Frank Blair was greatly influenced by his father, who had high political expectations of him.
Volatile and combative, Blair was either strongly admired or hated by the public figures of his day. He held adamantly to his opinions and fought hard for his political causes. He was an ardent supporter of Abraham Lincoln and championed the president's program in Congress and in Missouri against the frequent assaults of the Radicals. Credited with being the principal leader in saving Missouri for the Union in 1861, Blair later served with great distinction at Vicksburg, Chattanooga, and in the Sherman campaigns throughout Georgia and the Carolinas. He is one of only two Missourians ever honored by his state in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.
Frank Blair: Lincoln's Conservative reveals the full extent of Blair's importance as a national political figure. Specialists in nineteenth-century America, students of Missouri history, and Civil War buffs will welcome this study, which will long stand as the definitive work on this influential and colorful character.
Review
"Parrish, our most prominent historian of the state of Missouri, has produced the first modern scholarly biography of one of Missouri's key 19th-century politicians. Frank Blair, son of Andrew Jackson lieutenant Francis Preston Blair, was a leading Benton Democrat in St. Louis who became an important conservative Republican and spokesman for President Lincoln in Congress. Even while serving in the House of Representatives during the Civil War, he became one of the Union Army's best and most popular political generals. After the war, he and other members of the powerful Blair clan led conservative opposition to Radical Reconstruction. This is a well-researched and solid biography, lacking only some needed detail on such matters as the role of the Blair and Benton hard money doctrine in 1850's politics. One also wonders how a man with no military experience could became such a good soldier, especially given his 'off-season' commitment to politics. Still, this is the best study of Blair and his family that we are likely to have in the near future." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
Review
andquot;Every man in Missouri, whatever his politics, his religion, or his beverage . . . has reason to believe that a braver man than Frank Blair never set foot on Missouri soil or any other soil. No one hereabouts whose hope of eternal life was not well assured, would ever think of drawing a knife or pistol on Frank.andquot;andmdash;Anonymous Missourian to a reporter for the New York Sun
About the Author
William E. Parrish is Professor Emeritus of History at Mississippi State University. He is the author of numerous books, including A History of Missouri: Volume III, 1860 to 1875. He is also the general editor of the five-volume History of Missouri Series.
The Missouri Biography Series, edited by William E. Foley