In My Mailbox Today

Today, I received a copy of Dr. Donald S. Frazier’s new book, Blood on the Bayou: Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and the Trans-Mississippi, the third volume in his Louisiana Quadrille series. The previous volumes are written in a lively way, are well researched, and packed with maps and illustrations. Frazier admits in his foreword, “This is not the book I intended to write….as I opened myself to the sources, I felt compelled to go where they led; that is the essence of history….As with the other books in the series, the military campaigns remain front and center…However, the sources revealed an almost obsessive concern over slavery. Actually, these soldiers, civilians, and politicians did not fret over the institution of slavery as much as control over the slaves themselves” (p. vii).

The book is 472 pages, and I’m starting it tonight!