On Friday the 18th, author Dale Cox announced the release of his latest book, The Battle of Massard Prairie. He's been telling me 'it's a week away' for the last six months so it's great to finally get an official proclamation...Ha!Beyond contributing well written and deeply researched studies covering small, relatively obscure military campaigns [see reviews of The Battle of Natural Bridge and the earlier Marianna study], Cox also directs sales proceeds to preservation causes. For instance, half the profits from Massard Prairie will go to the Cane Hill Driving Tour project. Thanks and praise for both efforts are in order.
[Cane Hill is a fascinating segment of the Prairie Grove campaign. For reading, I recommend the relevant chapters of Michael Banasik's Embattled Arkansas, and the even better pamphlet written by Kim Allen Scott and Stephen Burgess titled "Pursuing an Elusive Quarry: The Battle of Cane Hill, Arkansas". Both, unfortunately, are out of print, but the latter can be found in original form in Arkansas Historical Quarterly, vol. 56, Spring 1997, pp. 26-55]
Thanks for the kind words and sorry for the delays!
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to weigh in on Cane Hill. It was a fascinating engagement and the scenery is quite beautiful. Alan Thompson and the folks putting together the driving tour have a really nice plan and it will soon make a great third stop for anyone visiting Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove.
Dale