Published in 1893; this volume contains the memoirs of Lt. R. M. Collins and his time serving in Co. B; 15th Texas Regiment; Granbury's Brigade; Cleburne's Division; Army of Tennessee during the War Between the States and during his time as a prisoner of war.
#2765825 in Books 2013-11-05Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .69 x 6.00l; .61 #File Name: 1493666339302 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Rapides Rebels CompiledBy William BozicThis book is a series of approximately 127 photographs (pre; post; and wartime) with one-page biographies of soldiers who served in or were from Rapides Parish (County) Louisiana. The daunting scope of the author’s task to compile photos with biographies of so many men in this corner of the Trans-Mississippi Confederacy is monumental and clearly unfinished; but the reader will be pleasantly surprised to see the efforts in a handy book format. The city of Alexandria is located on the Red River in Rapides Parish where; according to the author; 14 companies were formed in the parish for service in the Confederate cause. Some notable Union men like General William T Sherman and Col. Joseph Bailey are covered in the book; but largely this is a compilation of men who served in the Confederacy making the images and biographies all the more rare.After a list of actions and Confederate companies created within the parish there are a few photos and prophetic notes about the war followed by an alphabetical list of the men. There are no page numbers used in the book; but the men are arranged in alphabetical order by surname. The biographies appear to have come from various submissions that sometimes provide stories which might not otherwise be found in the records. The tales of disaster and woe from each family are like reading a series of compact individual tragedies that put a face and family to the cost of the war.Records for the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy are hard to find because the Shreveport headquarters; with its records; was burned by Confederates at the end of the war. Rapides Parish records are also a challenge because Alexandria was burned May 13; 1864 under the direction and encouragement of Union General A.J. Smith. Lamentably there is no index; no bibliography; nor footnotes in the book. It can be surmised the combined service records; census; obituaries; individual family histories; and sometimes pensions were used to create the biographical data; and occasionally an individual is listed as the source.
