Author James Carson is a retired CIA and Army officer as well as Henry Lazelle’s great-grandson with more than thirty years of experience as a military intelligence analyst, manager and educator. Carson had ready access to a wealth of materials, not the least of which were Lazelle’s journals. In addition other family papers, unpublished papers and interviews, websites, secondary sources, newspapers and journals, U.S. Government documents and other archives and collections provided a wonderful source. Carson’s experience and this material has enabled him to present a complete biography of a nearly forgotten soldier of the latter half of the nineteenth century.

Henry M. Lazelle is certainly unknown except to Civil War buffs but surprisingly to one who has only a passing interest in that subject matter, Carson fleshes out the man to an admirable degree. From reading Against the Grain one realizes he had an important role in many facets of nineteenth century American history, not only his Civil War service. Lazelle entered West Point at age 17 in July 1850. At the same time others in his class gained fame: Oliver Otis Howard, G.W. Custis Lee – son of General Robert E. Lee - and James E.B. Stuart to name several who became well known. Another classmate gained fame as an artist, James Whistler. The future famous American artist influenced Lazelle but not for the better; he “slipped in academic performance” and also “suffered from numerous lapses in discipline.” [14] By July 1855 Lazelle graduated but it is doubtful if his superiors expected greatness from him. He was commissioned a Brevet 2nd Lieutenant, with a class record of 30th in a class of 34. He had a near record number of demerits. Carson sums up his West Point career as closing with a “rather dismal record in his military subjects.” [22] Through hindsight Carson saw a degree of greatness.

The beginning of his military career was at Fort Bliss, Department of Texas. Here he saw action for the first time – fighting Mescalero Apaches. No training at West Point could have prevented the serious injuries he received in this type of warfare. He did – heroically – extricate his command from potential disaster in spite of his wounds. Certainly this was a major deed on his record. Lazelle not only succeeded in this engagement but in his journal he could proudly record that he had scouted with the famous Kit Carson.