Alanson M. Randol

author

Alanson M. Randol

1837–1887

A West Point–trained artillery officer turned firsthand chronicler of the Civil War, this author wrote with the directness of someone who had lived the events himself. His surviving work offers a vivid, ground-level view of the Second New York Cavalry in the war’s closing days.

1 Audiobook

Last Days of the Rebellion The Second New York Cavalry (Harris' Light) at Appomattox Station and Appomattox Court House, April 8 and 9, 1865

Last Days of the Rebellion The Second New York Cavalry (Harris' Light) at Appomattox Station and Appomattox Court House, April 8 and 9, 1865

by Alanson M. Randol

About the author

Born in Newburgh, New York, in 1837, Alanson Merwin Randol built his career as a United States Army officer after graduating from West Point in 1860. He served in the Civil War as an artillery commander and was repeatedly recognized for gallant and meritorious service, rising by brevet to brigadier general.

Randol is remembered not only as a soldier but also as the author of Last Days of the Rebellion, a concise account of the Second New York Cavalry at Appomattox Station and Appomattox Court House on April 8 and 9, 1865. The book stands out for its firsthand perspective and its focus on the closing moments of the conflict.

He died in 1887, leaving behind the rare kind of writing that blends military history with personal witness. For listeners interested in the Civil War, his work offers both documentary value and the immediacy of lived experience.