New Books!

A great day is when new books arrive in the mail. Today, I received I Do Wish This Cruel War Was Over: First Person Accounts of Civil War Arkansas from the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, edited by Mark K. Christ and Patrick G. Williams and "This Day We Marched Again: A Union Soldier's Account of War in Arkansas and the Trans-Mississippi edited by Mark K. Christ. The latter is an account written by Jacob Haas, a soldier in the 9th Wisconsin Infantry, a regiment that campaigned solely in the trans-Mississippi. Drew Wagonhoffer has written detailed (and positive) reviews of both books on his blog, Civil War Books and Authors. It is good news indeed to have more trans-Mississippi primary accounts readily available.

"'With hurrah we went ahead...'": Newtonia, Missouri

Newtonia is a village in southwestern Missouri with a population of 199 according to the 2010 census. Several Civil War actions occurred in and near Newtonia including the First Battle of Newtonia on September 30, 1862. Native American regiments participated on both sides of the engagement, one of the few times that occurred during the war. For the Union the 3^rd Indian Home Guard, primarily comprised of Cherokee Indians, served during the battle. The 1^st Choctaw Regiment, the 1^st Choctaw and Chickasaw Regiment, and the 1^st Cherokee Battalion participated on the Confederate side. The 9^th Wisconsin Infantry, a German regiment organized in Milwaukee, suffered the heaviest losses. Private Michael Zimmerman wrote that the men advanced on Newtonia “ full of joy and fighting spirit…With hurrah we went ahead not realizing the danger before us.’” After an unsuccessful charge on a position held by the 31^st Texas Cavalry, the 9^th Wisconsin retreated and then was cut apart when support troops fled. Altogether the 9^th Wisconsin lost 28 killed and 167 captured; 51 of the captured were wounded.

The quotes from Michael Zimmerman are from: Michael E. Banasik, Embattled Arkansas: The Prairie Grove Campaign of 1862 (Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1996), p. 202.

Another source on the battle is:

Wood, Larry. The Two Civil War Battles of Newtonia. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2010.