Captain Moroni, The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon contains records of two important individuals with the same name - Moroni. This entry is concerned with the first of the two, commonly referred to, though not in the scripture itself, as Captain Moroni.
As a young man, Moroni is appointed leader of the Nephite armies. Mormon, the book's chief narrator, takes pains to portray Moroni as a man with no love for war, and as a person committed to high Christian standards. Even so, he sees his task as unavoidable - saving the Nephites from obliteration by war.
I believe Moroni had a non-military life before his country called on him. His people are outnumbered, and so he must look to gain advantage through both a technical edge, better use of tactics and superior intelligence. He is not shy about inspiring his troops by reminding them of their greater cause (preserving themselves and their families). When making plans with subordinate Nephite officers, there is no shouting, derision or humiliation. He simply depends on them to make good decisions.   
He is surprisingly generous to defeated soldiers from the other side whose lives are in his hands. More than once, he offers them the chance to return to their homes in peace, on one condition - that they take an oath never to take up arms again against his people. Such an offer today would be almost unthinkable, especially if made in the midst of a long and bloody conflict still far from any final resolution.
Mormon includes one chapter which reveals Moroni as imperfect. A lack of supplies and reinforcements frustrates Moroni at one point, and he writes a letter to the leaders of the Nephite government. Unaware of conditions which have caused the shortages, his words to the government are angry and include a threat to bring an army to forcibly remove them from power. Fortunately, Moroni soon learns the cause (domestic rebellion) of the problem, his threat is forgotten, the rebellion is suppressed and the Nephite army is restored to its full strength.
Not long after, the war is finally concluded, and Moroni finally has the chance to return to his own home in peace. Unfortunately, his retirement is cut short by a premature death, with the cause unexplained in the scriptures. We can safely guess that his funeral was a very large event.