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#2465875 in Books University Alabama Press 1991-06-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.70 x 6.00l; 1.82 #File Name: 0817305467544 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Indispensable But Generically PackagedBy Carlos MueblesIndispensable for a thorough understanding of the Trans-Mississippi South in 1863-1865. Thoroughly detailed. Not a 5 star rating because I didn't receive the volume pictured; but a 1972 edition. Make sure to specify the 1991 edition; not the 1972 edition.3 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Good one.By oldgalWow. Anyone interested in Kirby-Smith's history; or in the history of Louisiana and/or Shreveport specifically during the Civil War; will LOVE this book!!! I expected to learn a lot; but was pleasantly surprised that there was even more information than I thought there would be.13 of 13 people found the following review helpful. The absolute definition.......By Robert C. Hufford....of a book for people like me. If you've bothered to read this; for people like you; too. A book can be "definitive"; "essential"; neither; or both...this book is definitive; but is probablly essential for only a few dozen people on earth....This is NOT a biography of General Edmund Kirby Smith; it is the story of his leadership of the Transmississippi Department from 1863 to the end of the war. After distinguished service in Virginia; Tennessee; and Kentucky; Smith was sent west in 1863 because Lieutenant General Theophilus Holmes was not up to the job of running a department [he; alas; got to keep Arkansas]. He set up headquarters in Shreveport; LA; and ran a department that included western Louisiana; Arkansas; Missouri; Texas; and what is now Oklahoma; New Mexico; and Arizona. After the fall of Vicksburg in July; 1863; Smith was on his own. He was as much a Governor General as he was a General; exercising powers that NO other Officer in American history has had to [the only recent parallel I can think of is the British General Allenby in Palestine after WWI]. Smith had to juggle military necessity [and very different definitions of that] with political reality. He even promoted nine Generals; whose rank is still debated. Further complication came from the fact that many of his subordinate Generals were Robert E. Lee's incompetent rejects; though the worst problems came from the highly competent; but vain and insubordinate; Richard Taylor.The problems were profound...little money; few resourses; poor transportation. Smith and Taylor fought over whether to concentrate on Arkansas and Missouri [Smith]; or Louisiana [Taylor]. Of corruption; there was plenty...witness Santos Benavides' cotton gathering; or the Yankee cotton traders carrying a pass signed by both Smith and Union General Banks; escorted by soldiers from both sides. Still; there were victories; Taylor's Red River campaign was a masterpiece; Dowling's victory at Sabine Pass was one of the greatest in history; small though it was; Stand Watie and the other Indians in Oklahoma were viable right to the end. Indeed; Smith was the last major Confederate commander to surrender; and Watie was the last general of any rank.If you REALLY want to know about an obscure aspect of the Civil War; read this profoundly great book. Be warned; it is 600+ pages of heavy going. I am a fan of General Smith; and; though I live in Virginia; have an interest in the topic. If you don't; don't waste time; money; and shelf space.
