author
Augustus C. Buell
1847–1904
A Civil War veteran turned prolific biographer, he wrote brisk, dramatic books about American naval heroes and other public figures. His work found many readers in its day, though later scholars challenged the accuracy of some of his most famous biographies.
1 Audiobook
The Memoirs of Charles H. Cramp
by Augustus C. Buell
About the author
Born in Norwich, New York, in 1847, Augustus Caesar Buell served in the Civil War and later worked as a civil engineer before building a career as a writer. He became known for books that mixed military history, biography, and patriotic storytelling, including The Cannoneer and lives of figures such as John Paul Jones and William Penn.
Buell's writing was lively and popular with readers who enjoyed colorful historical narrative. At the same time, his reputation became controversial: later research found that parts of his historical work were unreliable, and some material appears to have been fabricated or borrowed without proper credit.
He died in Philadelphia in 1904. Today, he is remembered both as a successful turn-of-the-century popular historian and as a cautionary example of how vivid storytelling can blur into doubtful history.