John Allan Wyeth

It is rare for the author of a biography to have led as interesting and accomplished a life as that of his subject, but in John Allan Wyeth, who was by turns a soldier, a medical innovator, a distinguished surgeon, as well as a prolific author, the exception proves the rule. Wyeth was born in 1845 in Alabama and educated at the Lagrange Military Academy in his home state. He went on to serve as a private in the 4th Alabama Cavalry and took part in several skirmishes and battles, some of them as part of General Nathan Bedford Forrest’s command.