John a Van Alstyne

John B. Turchin: a Russian Views the American Civil War John a Van Alstyne

Publisher Marketing: John Basil Turchin, a colonel in the Russian Army of Czar Nicholas I, immigrated to the United States and served in the Union Army from May 1861 until July 1864. Initially, he was appointed commander of the 19th Illinois Infantry Regiment, and subsequently given command of the 8th Brigade, Army of the Ohio. Turchin believed the Union should be more vigorous in carrying the war to the Confederacy. His methods in this regard eventually led to controversy with superiors and ultimately to his court-martial. Following his court-martial conviction, he was pardoned by President Lincoln, promoted to brigadier general, and given command of a brigade in the Army of the Cumberland. There, he served with distinction until July 1864 when he became ill and resigned his commission. Later, Turchin was co-founder of a successful Polish colony at Radom, Illinois. In 1888, he published his major work, Chickamauga, in which he discussed the battle in detail. Much of this work, however, was a general criticism of the Unions prosecution of the war and specific criticism of key Union commanders. General Turchin was an experienced and successful commander who understood the nature of war and was one of the earliest advocates of the total war concept for which Generals William T. Sherman and Phillip H. Sheridan later became famous.