DOC By Any Means Necessary (Malcolm X Speeches and Writings) (Malcolm X speeches writings) by Malcolm X in History

Description

In 1862; far from the bloodied fields of Virginia and Tennessee; the Civil War raged in the desert Southwest. General Henry Hopkins Sibley marched what became the Army of New Mexico across the Texas Trans-Pecos to Fort Bliss. Driving north into the Mesilla Valley; Sibley hoped to overrun the Union's Fort Craig; push up the Rio Grande; seize the supply depot at Albuquerque; raise the Stars and Bars over Santa Fe; and march on Fort Union; another vital supply depot and the gateway to Colorado. The ultimate objective of the campaign purportedly was the eventual conquest of California; since a continental Confederate States of America stretching from Richmond to San Francisco might well speed diplomatic recognition by Great Britain and France; a vital necessity for the independence of the infant southern republic. The Civil War in West Texas and New Mexico provides new details of Sibley's grandiose and ill-fated dreams for a Confederate empire in the Southwest. Of the 147 letters in the letterbook; only eight have been published in the Official Records. In particular; the letters show how Sibley organized his small army; enlisted officers at the brigade and regimental levels; and sought to supply it with arms and equipment. In addition; as many as 150 individuals; many of them well known; are named in the letterbook. This new study makes for important reading for anyone interested in the Civil War.