Originally released in 1866, Early's is the first personal account published by a major Civil War figure on either side. A creator of the Lost Cause myth that exalted Lee and his Virginia army above those of other states, Early anticipated arguments that later Lost Cause writers would make regarding Lee's and Grant's generalships, the reasons for the Confederate defeat, and the conduct of Union forces in Southern states. Early's memoir helped shape the ways in which white southerners wrote about and understood the Confederacy. In a new introduction to this edition, Gary W. Gallagher explicates Early's military career and examines the general's postwar career as a Confederate apologist.