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In The Saddle With The Texans: Day-by-Day with Parsons's Cavalry Brigade, 1862-1865
Studio : McWhiney Foundation Press
by McWhiney Foundation Press
Publisher : McWhiney Foundation Press
Released : 2004-11
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781893114487
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 3 reviews)
List Price : $29.95
Our Price : $23.95
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Product Description |
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Confederate cavalry operating in the Trans-Mississippi during the Civil War has received little scholarly attention, partially because of the paucity of written resources that survived the conflict. While there are a few published letter collections and a handful of memoirs, little is known of the troopers' daily activities. With the publication of the order book of Parsons's Brigade, a compilation of the original daily orders preserved by members of the brigade following the Civil War, the story of these horsemen comes to light. The Texans were on the move daily, skirmishing or scouting with Union cavalry from the time they arrived in Arkansas in 1862 until the time they returned to Texas in 1865. As cavalrymen, they endured a life of privation and hardship, sleeping in the muddy bayous of northeastern Louisiana or along the banks of the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers. For the first time the reader can follow the everyday life of a Texas cavalryman as he served the Confederacy faithfully in a losing cause. |
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roller coaster book from interesting to absolute boredum |
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As a cavalry history buff I was very interested to read this book. It took all I could do to finish this book. If you are interested in the daily orders that range from oders for deserters, forage, arrest, sickness, or as the author states daily life then you will love this. For me it was a struggle. The maps were so small that I needed a magnifying glass to read. It would have been nice to have had a Texas map showing all of the counties that the soldiers were from. Overall a history lesson of a Texas cavalry unit that suffered greatly as many did in this sad time in our history. |
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Primary Source Documents of a Confederate brigade |
The Trans-Mississippi district of the Confederacy has received little attention in the literature. And what literature exists has largely concentrated on the irregular forces operating in Northern Arkansas. Even most of the Trans-Mississippi forces were used in other places (Such as the Louisiana Tigers fighting at Antietam where they suffered 61% casualties.).
After the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861 the Governor of Texas authorized the raising of regiments for the new Confederate Government. The Twelfth Texas Cavalry under Colonel William Henry Parsons was one such unit. Their first battle was against a foraging party on May 19. This was a battle of little overall consequence, but it was the first, and it was a victory.
From then on until 1865 the Texans were constantly on the move around Arkansas. The book consists mostly of copies of orders and reports that cover the movements of the unit. It is fascinating to see the level of detail that illustrates what a military unit of the time was doing. An amazing amount of effort was spent on foraging for supplies, buying horses, sending men to perform some task or whatever. A surprisingly small amount of time was actually spent fighting. These combined documents present a direct first hand account of the activities of a unit.
These documents are a direct representation of primary sources, transcribed from the original hand written documents. |
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An up-close and personal look Texas cavalry life |
History professor Anne Bailey presents In The Saddle With The Texans: Day-By-Day With Parson's Cavalry Brigade, 1862-1865, a collection of primary sources, especially special orders, general orders, and communication between lieutenants, colonels and the like with regard to Parson's Brigade of Texan cavalry during the American Civil War. An introduction and footnotes strive to clarify references, but the vast bulk of In The Saddle With The Texans simply presents the communications themselves for scholars and amateur or professional historians to contemplate. Most of the actual missives are brief, such as "Maj. Thos [Thomas] Johns Brigade Q.M. will turn over to Lieut. E.W. Hunt Two Hundred dollars to defray expenses in going after Blankets for the Command." Yet a general picture emerges, of a unit constantly on the move, skirmishing with Union cavalry, scouting the enemy, and surviving in hardship. A welcome contribution to primary source references concerning the American Civil War, offering an up-close and personal look Texas cavalry life.
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