That latest Camp Pope News (the infrequent, but always eagerly welcomed, newsletter published by Clark Kenyon's Camp Pope Bookshop) contains an interesting announcement that a new book about the Battle of Athens, MO is in the works:
"I'm working on a new, detailed study of this battle that took place between Union Home Guard troops and the Missouri State Guard in far northeast Missouri on August 5, 1861. It's best known as the closest actual fighting got to Iowa (Croton, Iowa, stood right across the Des Moines River from Athens). The author Jonathan Cooper-Wiele and I have been discussing the publication of this work for several years, and now we are definitely going ahead with it."
I eagerly await this book. The best single source for information on this battle remains an old article by Leslie Anders in Missouri Historical Review ("‘Farthest North:’ The Historian and the Battle of Athens," MISSOURI HISTORICAL REVIEW 69 (Jan 1975): pp 147-168). A book was also published a while back (now long out of print) written by a Mr. Dixon which I understand from trusted sources is a fairly informal, loosely organized collection of information on the battle.
As for projects farther along the pipeline, the Camp Pope series Unwritten Chapters of the Civil War West of the River has a new installment coming out soon (perhaps this summer). Duty, Honor, Country is an annotated compilation of the letters of William Black, Captain of Company K (Fremont Rifles), 37th Illinois Infantry. The series is edited by Michael Banasik.
If you would like to subscribe to the Camp Pope newsletter, click here. I highly recommend it.
Drew,
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see you highlight the offerings of Camp Pope Bookshop in your latest blog entry -- that's been a great little press. I have not been keeping up with them in recent years, so am pleased to learn they're still going strong. The new "West of the River" series looks great.
David
Hi David,
ReplyDeleteIt's my favorite bookstore and I check back often. You'll never find that much published primary source material on the Tran-Miss. theater anywhere else.
Drew