William R. J. Pegram forged a record as one of the most prominent artillerists in the Army of Northern Virginia. He participated in every major battle in Virginia and rose form sergeant to full colonel by the end of the war. Neither zealot nor fanatic, Pegram shared the values of the South's ruling elite, and Peter S. Carmichael argues that he entered Confederate service to defend a way fo life he believed was ordained but God. Lee's Young Artillerist looks at Pegram as a case study to explore the worldview of slaveholders in the antebellum South.