Book News: UNION "Tales of the War" in the Trans-Mississippi

Camp Pope Publishing's Unwritten Chapters of the Civil War West of the River series, edited by Michael Banasik, is a great personal favorite of mine, its volumes chock full of invaluable first-person accounts, documents, maps, copious editorial notes, detailed orders of battle, and more. Volume VII of the series, Confederate "Tales of the War" in the Trans-Mississippi, was released in five parts published between 2010 and 2019. All were reviewed on the site [to refresh your memory, visit these CWBA review links: Part One 1861, Part Two 1862, Part Three 1863, Part Four 1864, and Part Five 1864-1865].

With all that series background stuff out the way, the news item of the day is that the long-awaited first installment of the Union side of the "Tales of the War" collection is now available. Follow this link: [Camp Pope Publishing] and you'll find more information about Union "Tales of the War" in the Trans-Mississippi - Part 1: 1861.

From the description: Part One "covers the events in Missouri that led up to Missouri reluctantly entering the Civil War, including the war preparations in St. Louis, the arrival of Nathaniel Lyon in St. Louis, and the role he played in preparing the Union side for the eventual conflict in Missouri. Also included, you will be introduced to the Missouri secession crisis and the capture of Camp Jackson on May 10, 1861, which propelled Missouri into the Civil War. The 1861 volume of this series includes extensive accounts on the Battles of Carthage (July 5, 1861), Wilson’s Creek (August 10, 1861), and, to a lesser extent, the Battle of Belmont on November 7, 1861, as related by the pilot of General Grant’s headquarters vessel, the Belle Memphis. This volume also includes several appendices covering official correspondence, various biographies, and extensive Orders of Battle for the major engagements in 1861 Missouri."

If you missed out on the earlier Unwritten Chapters books, scroll to the bottom of the CPP page linked above and you'll find that all of the Volume I-VII titles are still in print.