Serving the Republic

Memoirs of the Civil and Military Life of Nelson A. Miles

By: Nelson A. Miles

Narrated by: Joel Allen

Nelson Appleton Miles (1839 - 1925) was an American military general. From 1895 to 1903, he served as the last commanding general of the United States Army before the office was abolished.

The 1911 autobiography of General Miles is titled Serving the Republic, and chronicles his career as a soldier. He participated in many of the battles of the Civil War as a volunteer and afterwards took part as a commander in most of the Indian campaigns on the Western plains. His final service was in the Spanish-American War.

This is one of the most important works of 19th-century military history.

Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks

Good story

General Nelson Miles' account of his experience in the Civil, Indian, and Spanish American War is compelling. Unfortunately he often digresses into related events that he was not involved in. This story, written well over 100 years ago, reflects the racial and social sensibilities of its time. If you can get past that, it is an excellent, if sometimes self serving, historical narrative.