Monday, July 20, 2009

Greetings

Welcome to my blog about the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi! By “Trans-Mississippi,” I mean the war west of the Mississippi River. Not only am I a native Trans-Mississippian, but I also reside here as well. My name is Jane Johansson, and I work as an associate professor of history at Rogers State University. The main campus is located in Claremore, Oklahoma, but I work seventeen miles east of there at a branch campus in Pryor. This part of northeastern Oklahoma saw quite a bit of campaigning during the war—most of the fighting in the Indian Territory occurred along or near the Military Road (also known as the Texas Road). This roughly parallels U. S. highway 69 today.

My graduate degrees were earned south of the Red River at the University of North Texas. I had the good fortune to have Dr. Richard Lowe as my advisor. He encouraged me to study a Texas unit for my dissertation, and this resulted in a study of the 28th Texas Cavalry. After graduating, I revised my dissertation into Peculiar Honor: A History of the 28th Texas Cavalry, 1862-1865 that was published by the University of Arkansas Press in 1998. I followed this up by editing the letters of Captain Theophilus Perry of the 28th Texas Cavalry and his wife, Harriet. In 2000, this was published as Widows by the Thousand: The Civil War Correspondence of Theophilus and Harriet Perry, 1862-1864. More about those books at another time!

This is my first experience at blogging so with some trepidation I am throwing my words out in cyberspace.

5 comments:

  1. Dear Ms. J

    Congratulations. I think this blog on the overlooked T-M will be quite popular. I look forward to reading it.

    Let me know if I can help in any way.

    --tps

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  2. Thank you so much for your kind words! I am planning to post from 2-3 times a week--I don't think I'll lack for material... I appreciate your offer of help and will certainly keep that in mind.

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  3. Yes, I think this is a good idea. I have 2 GGgrandfathers that were captured at Vicksburg, being neighbors from Catahoula Par, LA. 1 other GGgrandfater was captured in Longview, AR and sent up river to Rock Island Prison. He died after walking all the way back to Pike Co., AR after his release.
    Still another GGgrandfather from Dyerburg, TN was with Leonidas Polk for most of the war. So I am interested in any and all history of the region and it's peoples.

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  4. I loved Widows by the Thousands!! I use it quite often in my Texas homefront research.

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  5. It was quite an experience putting together "Widows by the Thousand." I discovered that documentary editing is every bit as difficult (maybe more so) than actually writing a book. I'm pleased that the letters have been helpful in your research!

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