Yankee Hero

"Such notable historical publications as this biography of Major General Frederick Funston, U.S. Army, 1865-1917, rest on two essential cornerstones: thorough research and lucid presentation. Clyde Toland has carefully and successfully incorporated both in his latest study of this courageous, colorful-and sometimes controversial-Kansan. Toland's work is an important and long-overdue contribution to United States historiography."Thomas W. Crouch, University of Texas at Austin, PhD in history, retired civilian historian for the United States Air Force, and author of the ground-breaking works, A Yankee Guerrillero: Frederick Funston and the Cuban Insurrection, 1896-1897 (1975) and A Leader of Volunteers: Frederick Funston and the 20th Kansas in the Philippines, 1898-1899 (1984) "With 'Yankee Hero,' Clyde Toland brings to a close his Becoming Frederick Funston Trilogy about the early adventurous life of the future national hero, U. S. Army Major General Frederick Funston. Set in Cuba during its 1895-1898 war of independence from Spain, 'Yankee Hero' follows volunteer Funston as he fights for Cuban independence in multiple roles as a member of the artillery, infantry, and cavalry.Clyde Toland has traced a short in stature, rambunctious, adventuresome Allen County, Kansas, farm boy into a war-weary hero. Fred Funston became dedicated to freedom for Cuba in the war against Spain. Interest continues for a reader as Clyde Toland has maintained an understanding of the Funston family and how important letters were-back and forth to family and friends-even from the battlefield in Cuba to Allen County. Hats off to Clyde Toland for 'Yankee Hero' and a greater understanding of a small but greatly important part of our history."Nancy Kassebaum Baker, United States Senator from Kansas, 1979-1997 "The work of a distinguished independent historian and son of Kansas, this volume chronicles a period in American and Cuban history too little understood. It offers a vivid portrait of Frederick Funston as a young American who would soon be recognized as a national leader in civic and military life.The quality of the research that undergirds this work is remarkable. The author has called on sources rarely sought out by any but the most diligent of scholars. The attentive reader will especially value the rich body of primary materials that document this lively account of Funston's part in the fight for Cuba Libre. The scholarship is matched by the exceptional prose quality of the work, at once testament to the author's decades of success as a lawyer and his commitment of making history accessible to all."William J. Crowe, emeritus Dean of Libraries of the University of Kansas