My Wish List

This may come as a shock to some of you, but I have been a long time subscriber of The Gettysburg Magazine. I rarely get behind reading this magazine since it only is published twice a year. In a recent issue, editor Andy Turner advertised a forthcoming publication titled the Gettysburg Campaign Atlas and done by the magazine’s cartographer, Philip Laino. Now, I am a sucker for atlases and decided that I could afford the $34.00 pre-publication price. The atlas arrived in the mail this week. It is a large spiral-bound tome that contains 421 maps depicting the entire campaign. My initial reaction is that it is an impressive accomplishment, but I admit to some irritation after looking at the book. Why don’t scholars devote more attention to the trans-Mississippi? And that leads neatly to the comment that Vicki Betts posted earlier this evening. She asked what works I would like to see published on the trans-Mississippi, and what follows is my wish list as of right now.

The following is in no particular order:

How about an atlas on the Red River Campaign? I think that seeing 421 well-done maps on that campaign, or even 221 maps would be quite a treat.

And speaking of atlases, how about an atlas devoted just to actions in the trans-Mississippi? Don’t you get tired of Civil War atlases whose western boundary is the eastern part of the Indian Territory or worse yet, Arkansas?

Logistics were of supreme importance in the trans-Mississippi. I want to know all about the movement of supplies to and from Fort Scott, Kansas. And how were Confederate forces sustained? In Dr. Shea’s recent book about the Prairie Grove campaign he states, “Contrary to myth, the trans-Mississippi Confederacy received few manufactured goods by way of blockade-running in the western Gulf of Mexico. Nearly all factory-made items, whether firearms from Britain or footwear from Georgia, reached Arkansas via the railhead and waterfront at Vicksburg. As the war progressed, however, the presence of Union gunboats on the Mississippi severed the direct connection between Vicksburg and Little Rock. The Confederates established an indirect connection through Louisiana via the Ouachita River, but the route was longer, slower, and less reliable. By the fall of 1862 the arrival of any shipment from the eastern Confederacy was cause for celebration in Arkansas and the Indian Territory” (p. 82). I’d like to see a scholarly study on logistics and the trans-Mississippi Confederacy; what supply routes were developed? How were they sustained? What supplies actually reached Confederate troops?

Have you noticed that almost every book on the trans-Mississippi highlights civilians in some way? Civilians provided supplies (whether willingly or unwillingly), and they often were caught up in guerrilla warfare as well as the struggle between the armies. Many became refugees. More scholarly studies on their plight as well as their importance would be useful.

I’m beginning to sense that I could go on and on… For now, I will just mention one more wish list item. I am waiting for a scholarly study of the war on the Pacific Coast. My impression is that some fascinating events occurred along the Pacific Coast during the war, particularly in California.

What would you like to see added to the list?

And thank you, Vicki, for suggesting the topic of this posting!

Supplies from Fort Scott

Trans-Mississippi soldiers, such as those in the 28^th Texas, operated in a region that was, for the most part, still a frontier. Supplying armies west of the Mississippi was particularly challenging, and the diaries and letters kept by soldiers there reflect a deep and abiding interest in supplies. Union soldiers operating in the border region along the Kansas/Missouri and Indian Territory/Arkansas lines were quite dependent on supplies from Fort Scott in Kansas. Wiley Britton in Memoirs of the Rebellion on the Border: 1863 wrote from the northeastern part of the Indian Territory, “It takes from five to seven days for a train to come down from Fort Scott, the distance being about one hundred and twenty-five miles” (p. 92). In the spring of 1863, Confederate forces attempted to destroy one of the wagon trains from Fort Scott, and Britton noted “Had they succeeded in capturing or burning the train, we should have been obliged to abandon this post, as we could have issued full rations only for a day or so longer. Indeed, of some articles we have already been obliged to issue less than the full allowance. This country could afford no subsistence, except fresh beef; and all our other supplies would be exhausted before we reached the Kansas line” (p. 271).

Colonel Horace Randal

Horace Randal, a 1854 graduate of the United State Military Academy, was the first commander of the 28^th Texas Cavalry, a unit that authorities dismounted after only a few months of service. Before commanding the 28^th Texas, he served for a time in Virginia on General Gustavus Woodson Smith’s staff. A fellow staff officer, John Cheves Haskell, wrote in a postwar memoir: “He [Randal] was a classmate of Stuart at West Point, but had more physical dash than Stuart. His other classmates, Hood among them, always predicted that he would be the cavalry leader of the war if he got a chance.” Randal went on to command an infantry brigade in Walker’s Texas Division and fell mortally wounded at the battle of Jenkins’ Ferry on 30 April 1864. Randall County, Texas, is named for him.

This prewar photograph of Horace Randal and his wife [probably his first wife Julia Bassett] is from the Special Collections Division of the U.S.M.A. Library at West Point, New York.

Prairie Grove book available

This is a particularly difficult part of the fall semester--lots of papers to grade, meetings to attend, and other professorial duties. My morale was boosted yesterday when I received my copy of Dr. William Shea's new book, Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign, a recent selection of the History Book Club. The book looks just as great as I had anticipated, and I was able to start reading it yesterday. If you haven't done so yet, scroll down and read the interview with Professor Shea.

How Peculiar

What a week! For tonight, I'll just do another mini-posting. In a few earlier postings, I mentioned that my dissertation and then my first book was about a Trans-Mississippi regiment, the 28th Texas Cavalry (dismounted).

“A position in this regiment will be one of peculiar honor.” So stated the Texas Republican on 15 March 1862 as the 28^th Texas Cavalry was being organized. The writer was not stating that the honor was weird or odd. The word “peculiar” had a somewhat different meaning in the mid-nineteenth century and meant special or distinctive.

Camp Pope Bookshop Sale!

Recently I learned that there is a liquidation sale occurring right now at the Camp Pope Bookshop. This is a book store that concentrates for the most part on works relating to the Trans-Mississippi. New books are being sold at half price with the exception of books published by Camp Pope. Last week I ordered four brand new books from there at half price and received them today--what a deal!

"...Hindman was the most successful of all Confederate generals."

As promised, here is the conclusion of the question and answer session with Dr. William L. Shea. His forthcoming book Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign may be ordered from Amazon.com or the University of North Carolina Press. I have found his comments to be stimulating and thought provoking, and I’m looking forward to reading your reactions to his comments. A tip of the hat and a multi-gun salute to Professor Shea for sharing his ideas!!

Were there any unique features to the campaign?

Professor Shea: Where do I start? The entire operation, from start to finish, is absolutely fascinating. Hindman appointed himself military governor, created an army from scratch, and set out to liberate Missouri. And he very nearly succeeded. It was the most remarkable turnaround in the Civil War. By any objective standard Hindman was the most successful of all Confederate generals. All ultimately failed, of course, but no one else did so much with so little and came so close to achieving a major strategic victory.

Your comment that "Hindman was the most successful of all Confederate generals" will certainly draw some attention! Please explain in more detail why you think he was so successful.

Professor Shea: As Rush Limbaugh continues to demonstrate on a daily basis, provocative statements draw a lot of attention. In the case of Hindman, however, it is not my intention to be provocative or outrageous or anything of that sort. I mean exactly what I say. The pantheon of Confederate generals is the product of narrow thinking and Lost Cause nonsense—the saintly Lee, the martyred Jackson, the dashing Stuart, the doomed Cleburne, and so on. Note that the only thing these people did was command troops in combat, and that is a very narrow definition of a successful general. Lee, for example, was a capable tactician but a mediocre administrator. And so on down the line. Hindman wore more hats than any other Confederate general and his accomplishments, given the circumstances and limitations under which he operated, were truly remarkable. No one else came close in my estimation. He deserves far more respect, admiration even, than he has received, and I hope the Prairie Grove book will help to set things right.

Sad to say, the study of Confederate military history is still hampered by an almost complete failure to think outside the box. Slowly but steadily, Civil War historians have begun to reassess Union generalship, but the subject of Confederate generalship remains sacrosanct, frozen in time, a romanticized product of the Victorian era. If my unorthodox (some will say heretical) take on Hindman jogs the process of reassessment along, good.

Does your interpretation of the significance of the campaign differ significantly from any prior studies? If so, how?

Professor Shea: So little has been done on the Trans-Mississippi that it is still essentially "virgin soil" for historians. Because my book is the first scholarly account of the campaign I expect it will serve as the "standard" until something better comes along, which will inevitably happen, of course.

What research challenges did you face?

Professor Shea: When Earl Hess and I began our research on Pea Ridge ages ago, we were warned that it was impossible to do a book-length study of anything on the Trans-Mississippi because of a lack of documentary material. We also were advised not to bother because the Trans-Mississippi was a backwater of no significance. But we were heedless youths and pressed ahead undeterred. Over the next few years we found hundreds of manuscript collections scattered across dozens of states. We ended up with far more material than we could possibly use.

So it was with Prairie Grove. I came across letters, diaries, and official documents everywhere I looked. I cannot recall ever storming into an archive and not coming out with a pile of photocopies or notes. The biggest haul came from New York City, of all places. The headquarters papers of the Confederate District of Arkansas have been hiding in plain sight at Columbia University for nearly a century. Even more remarkable, many of the "missing" Confederate division, brigade, and regimental reports from the battle were resting in the New York Historical Society, only a few blocks away. What this trove of Confederate documents was doing in "enemy hands" is a story in itself, but a definitive history of the Prairie Grove campaign could not have been written without it.

If my experience is any guide, there is enough material "out there" to support research into nearly every aspect of the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi.