Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Join Joiner on the Red River again

Given the existence of so many already, the world has not been demanding yet another 150 page overview of this particular event, but Gary Joiner's The Red River Campaign: The Union's Final Attempt to Invade Texas might be worth a look on some level, even though he probably already had his say in One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End: The Red River Campaign of 1864 and Through the Howling Wilderness: The 1864 Red River Campaign and Union Failure in the West. This new one will be part of State House Press/McWhiney's Civil War Campaigns and Commanders series.

9 comments:

  1. I agree.

    Let's get some detail on the Red River campaign and its battles. There have been enough overviews on it.

    I really liked the Savas volume from their Regiment series that delved into some micro detail on the campaign. The essay that was written by Savas was really good (focusing on a Confederate regiment especially at the Battle of Mansfield) and had some great maps.

    I thought the volume showed that some wonderful tactical detail could be done on the various actions on this very fascinating and almost decisive campaign.

    Chris

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    Replies
    1. Yes, it is surprising that no Mansfield or Pleasant Hill battle histories exist (the title of the Ayres book is completely misleading).

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    2. Thanks for the kind words, Chris. That was a fun volume, and the article was intriguing because I met a descendant who shared the family papers with me.

      The piece was about Colonel James Beard and the Consolidated Crescent Regiment. When they showed me the papers I had to write it. I recall his wife listened to the fighting at Mansfield from the porch, and then watched his body servant driving a wagon back a few hours later; she knew her husband was in the back. His baby son's shoe was found in his coat pocket when they laid him out on the dining room table--a touching scene. His infant son, if I recall, had died just a couple days earlier.

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  2. Drew, any word on Dr. Frazier's next volume?

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    Replies
    1. No, and I just realized it's been over two years since Vol. II. Time flies.

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  3. According to his Facebook page, he just finished Chapter 17!

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  4. When talking about Red River, let's not forget Bearss' account of the Camden Expedition, the Arkansas portion of the campaign.

    Mike Peters

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  5. Hi Drew and Others

    Not really familiar with the following battles, Mansfield or Pleasant Hill? Concerning numbers engaged, are these on same level as Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove?


    Don

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    Replies
    1. In terms of numbers actually engaged they were both Prairie Grove-ish in size, but with higher casualty rates.

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