De Forest was a student of languages and was fluent in Latin, Spanish, French and Italian. He spent many years abroad, travelling in Europe and the Middle East and wrote short stories for various periodicals. His first book, The History of the Indians of Connecticut..., appeared in 1851. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, De Forest returned to the United States and took a commission as captain with the 12th Connecticut Volunteers. Rising to the rank of major, he served with generals Weitzel and Sheridan and contributed graphic battle descriptions to Harper's Monthly. From 1865 to 1868, he was the adjutant general of the veteran reserve corps and supervised the reconstruction of Greensville, South Carolina. In 1867, he published Miss Ravenel's Conversion From Secession to Loyalty, his most significant work and one which won popular support. He is credited with introducing the term "the Great American Novel", in an essay of that name from 1869. De Forest continued to publish until shortly before his death and his many works include Witching Times (1856), Seacliff (1859), Overland (1871), Kate Beaumont (1872), The Wetherell Affair (1873), Justin Vane (1875), Irene, The Missionary (1879), A Lover's Revolt (1898) and The Downing Legends (1901). |
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