George Cary Eggleston

Born in Vevay, Indiana, in 1839, George Cary Eggleston became an American novelist, journalist, and editor whose career reached across newspapers, magazines, and books. He is especially remembered for A Rebel’s Recollections, drawn from his experience as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War.

After the war, he built a substantial literary life in New York, working in journalism and publishing while also writing fiction, history, and books for younger readers. His work ranged widely, but it often returned to American life and the past, with a direct, readable style that helped make serious history feel personal.

Eggleston died in New York in 1911. He was also the younger brother of writer Edward Eggleston, and together they remain part of a notable literary family with deep roots in 19th-century American letters.