author
Thomas Buchanan Read
1822–1872
A 19th-century American writer and artist, he is remembered for pairing vivid poetry with a successful career as a portrait painter. His Civil War poem "Sheridan's Ride" became especially famous, helping keep his name alive long after his lifetime.
1 Audiobook
Drifting
by Thomas Buchanan Read
About the author
Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in 1822, Thomas Buchanan Read built a rare double career as both a poet and a painter. He worked in the United States and Europe, and his portraits included major literary and political figures such as Abraham Lincoln, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Tennyson, and Robert Browning.
As a writer, he published several books of poetry and prose, but he is best known today for "Sheridan's Ride," a fast-moving Civil War poem that was widely recited in its time. His verse often aimed for strong feeling and vivid scenes, which helped make it popular with general readers.
Read died in 1872, but his reputation has lasted in two worlds at once: American literature and American art. That mix of painter's eye and poet's voice gives his work a distinctive place in 19th-century culture.