"A regiment of officers"

Judging from the accounts that I have read, the Union Army of the Frontier was rife with political intrigue—basically on a par or, shockingly, perhaps even worse than the Union Army of the Potomac. Today, I was studying some documents in the Official Records and found a letter written by Colonel William Weer on the eve of the First Indian Expedition into the Indian Territory. The expedition itself turned into a bit of an embarrassment for Weer because Colonel Frederick Salomon arrested him, but that is a story for another day.

Here is a short excerpt from the letter written by Weer on June 26, 1862, from Humboldt, Kansas:

“Commissions to officers from the Governor are pouring in daily. I am told that the Tenth [Kansas Infantry] is rapidly becoming a regiment of officers. To add to these difficulties there are continual intrigues, from colonels down, for promotions and positions of command. Officers are leaving their posts for Fort Leavenworth and elsewhere to engage in these intrigues for more prominent places. The camps are filled with rumors of the success of this or that man. Factions are forming, and a general state of demoralization being produced. I can see no remedy for these evils but the prompt punishment of all officers who in this manner seem more anxious for better pay than for better improvement in the knowledge of their duties” (Official Records, vol. 13, 441-442).

Scholarly Articles about the Trans-Mississippi

Each year “Southern History in Periodicals: A Selected Bibliography" is published in The Journal of Southern History. After perusing the list, I pulled out citations for the following articles published in 2012 that pertain to the trans-Mississippi:

Bearss, Edwin C. “The Federals Raid Van Buren and Threaten Fort Smith.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Summer 2012): 188-202.

Beilein, Joseph M., Jr. “The Guerrilla Shirt: A Labor of Love and the Style of Rebellion in Civil War Missouri.” Civil War History, v. 58 (June 2012): 151-179.

Bledsoe, Andrew Scott. “The Homecircle: Kinship and Community in the Third Arkansas Infantry, Texas Brigade, 1861-1865.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Spring 2012): 22-43.

Campbell, Jacqueline G. “’The Unmeaning Twaddle about Order 28’: Benjamin F. Butler and Confederate Women in Occupied New Orleans, 1862.” The Journal of the Civil War Era, v. 2 (March 2012): 11-30.

Hulbert, Matthew C. “Constructing Guerrilla Memory: John Newman Edwards and Missouri’s Irregular Lost Cause.” The Journal of the Civil War Era, v. 2 (March 2012): 58-81.

Hulbert, Matthew C. “Texas Bound and Down: An Untold Narrative of Missouri’s Guerrilla War on Film.” Journal of the West, v. 50 (Fall 2011): 27-33.

Kamphoefner, Walter D. “Missouri Germans and the Cause of Union and Freedom.” Missouri Historical Review, v. 106: 115-136.

Monnett, Howard N. “A Yankee Cavalryman Views the Battle of Prairie Grove.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Summer 2012): 151-163.

Roberts, Bobby L. “General T. C. Hindman and the Trans-Mississippi District.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Summer 2012): 110-121.

Shea, William L. “The Aftermath of Prairie Grove: Union Letters from Fayetteville.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Summer 2012): 203-216.

Shea, William L. “Prelude to Prairie Grove: Cane Hill, November 28, 1862.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Summer 2012): 122-150.

Stith, Matthew M. “’The Deplorable Condition of the Country’: Nature, Society, and War on the Trans-Mississippi Frontier.” Civil War History, v. 58 (September 2012): 322-347.

Thompson, Alan and Mark K. Christ. “The Prairie Grove Campaign: An Introduction.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Summer 2012): 107-109.

Wilder, Jeremy H. “The Thirty-Seventh Illinois at Prairie Grove.” Arkansas Historical Quarterly, v. 71 (Summer 2012): 164-180.

Was a Balloon Used in a Trans-Mississippi Campaign?

Recently, I’ve been rereading A Southern Record: The History Of The Third Regiment Louisiana Infantry (1866) by William H. Tunnard. The 3^rd Louisiana Infantry assembled a fine combat record at Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, Iuka, Corinth, and the siege of Vicksburg. While reading about the advance of the Confederate army toward Wilson’s Creek in early August 1861, I came across the following puzzling passage:

“The next day [August 4^th] was the Sabbath, bright, beautiful, and golden. All remained quiet until nearly noon, when a balloon was discovered hovering over our camp, which sailed eastward in the direction of the enemy. All was bustle and activity, as the troops rapidly assembled in their respective quarters. A report soon prevailed that the enemy had penetrated the left of our position, and the balloon was a preconcerted signal for an advance on our front and flank. It proved a false rumor, and the army reposed in security and quietude” (pp. 46-47). 

After reading this, I checked several other sources but was unable to find any corroborating accounts. So, the appearance of a balloon during a trans-Mississippi campaign makes a great story, but I’m afraid it’s just an “old soldier” tale. Unless, of course, you have some corroboration?

Would You Like to Earn a Degree in Military History?

Final examination week is over at my school, Rogers State University! I don’t often deviate from the main topic of this blog, but work has been so much on my mind that I decided to feature my own employer for today. 

Rogers State University is one of the few institutions in the country that offers a bachelor’s degree in military history. Partly, this degree hearkens back to the days of the Oklahoma Military Academy, one of our predecessor schools, that operated in Claremore from 1919-1971. The Oklahoma Military Academy had more than 2,500 alumni that served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; 109 former cadets were killed or mortally wounded while serving our country. Surveys also indicated a high level of interest  in a military history degree in our region, so after much work, our degree in military history was created approximately three years ago.

 

The following is a quote from a flyer developed about the degree:

“The required core courses provide an understanding of military history and vital topics such as the changing technology of war, the relationship between war and society, and the role that religion and cultural conflict play in war and international conflicts. Courses in research methods equip students to discover, analyze and apply ideas and information. Elective classes provide in-depth study of international relations, military conflicts, and U. S. foreign policy. The program is designed to provide students with the training necessary to embark on a career in the academic field of military history, the professional armed forces, law, public administration, journalism, education, security, intelligence, or government.”

Some of the specific courses that are offered as part of the degree program are Introduction to Military History; War and Society; War, Ethics, and Religion; War and Technology; Readings in Military Leadership/Strategy; Revolutionary America, 1763-1783; The Civil War; World War II: The European Theater; World War II: The Pacific Theater; The Vietnam Conflict as well as others. Although some of the courses are offered online, this is primarily a residential program at this time.

For further information, to download the degree plan, and to read testimonials about the degree from prominent scholars, check out the webpage for the Department of History and Political Science. Perhaps I’ll see you in one of my courses some day!

A Subject Waiting For A Historian

While looking for some additional background information about Albert C. Ellithorpe, an officer in the First Indian Home Guards, I found a short piece about him in John Carbutt’s Biographical Sketches of the Leading Men of Chicago (1876). The sketch states that Ellithorpe “remained in the service until the end of the War, passing through many hard-fought battles and ‘bushwhacking’ fights, and sharing in all the rough-and-tumble experience of those terrible years on the frontier—a kind of experience which was so entirely different from that of the Armies in other parts of the country—so much more wild, exciting and critical that none but those actually under [James G.] Blunt’s command can appreciate its character. If the detailed history of that Army of the Frontier could be fully and faithfully written, it would be one of the most thrilling narratives of peril, bravery, self-sacrificing endurance under hardship, bloody encounters and bold and dashing deeds, that mark the annals of modern warfare” (p. 257). Excusing some of the hyperbole near the end, I think the author is correct that such a history would be “different,” “wild,” and “exciting.” It would certainly be a lot more interesting to read than yet another book about_________________ [you fill in the blank].