The name Samuel Wragg Ferguson is not one that even many Civil War scholars are very familiar with, but to understand the motivation, dedication, courage, dash, and verve of the Confederate cavalry officer, one needs to look no further than this man. Yankee Generals U.S. Grant and W.T. Sherman knew him well, for on two occasions their offensive drives were repulsed and twice Sherman came within a whisker of being killed or captured by Ferguson, whose career in the Confederate Army included the opening shot at Fort Sumter.