author
James Fowler Rusling
1834–1918
A Civil War officer, lawyer, and traveler, he turned a life of public service into vivid books about the American West and the people he met along the way. His writing blends firsthand experience with the curiosity of someone who saw a rapidly changing country up close.
1 Audiobook
Across America; Or, The Great West and the Pacific Coast
by James Fowler Rusling
About the author
Born in Warren County, New Jersey, in 1834, James Fowler Rusling studied at Dickinson College and later became a lawyer. During the Civil War he served in the Union Army, and after the war he remained active in public life in New Jersey.
Rusling is best remembered as an author of travel and historical writing. His best-known works include Across America, a lively account of western travel, and Men and Things I Saw in Civil War Days, a memoir drawn from his wartime experiences and the notable figures he encountered.
He also wrote family history and shorter historical pieces, showing the same interest in people, places, and memory that runs through his better-known books. He died in 1918, leaving behind writing that offers readers a personal window into nineteenth-century America.