On February 1; 1861; delegates at the Texas Secession Convention elected to leave the Union. The people of Texas supported the actions of the convention in a statewide referendum; paving the way for the state to secede and to officially become the seventh state in the Confederacy. Soon the Texans found themselves engaged in a bloody and prolonged civil war against their northern brethren. During the curse of this war; the lives of thousands of Texans; both young and old; were changed forever.This new anthology; edited by Kenneth W. Howell; incorporates the latest scholarly research on how Texans experienced the war. Eighteen contributors take us from the battlefront to the home front; ranging from inside the walls of a Confederate prison to inside the homes of women and children left to fend for themselves while their husbands and fathers were away on distant battlefields; and from the halls of the governor’s mansion to the halls of the county commissioner’s court in Colorado County. Also explored are well-known battles that took place in or near Texas; such as the Battle of Galveston; the Battle of Nueces; the Battle of Sabine Pass; and the Red River Campaign. Finally; the social and cultural aspects of the war receive new analysis; including the experiences of women; African Americans; Union prisoners of war; and noncombatants.
#1180782 in Books 2013-05-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.90 x .90 x 6.00l; 1.25 #File Name: 1572339950402 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Intellgent; informative and balancedBy James W. DurneyBurnside and Longstreet; two Civil War generals that can generate strong feelings do battle in East Tennessee. After Fredericksburg; Burnside is no longer a rising star. For becoming involved in the Army of Tennessee's internal politics; Bragg exiles Longstreet there. Saving the loyal population of East Tennessee from the Confederacy is a political not a military goal. This is something that Lincoln has pursued since Buell. Militarily; East Tennessee has little to recommend it. Most of the roads are poor; the terrain is rough and weather unstable. The only major objective is the direct railroad line from Chattanooga to Virginia but alternate routes exist. The "gaps"; mountain passes; are easy to defend. The South can use them to invade Kentucky; a dismal prospect after 1862. The North can only use them to invade East Tennessee; which no commander wants to do.Burnside and two divisions of the IX Corps change the equation. Transferred west; after Fredericksburg; they are the army of invasion the area needed. As Rosecrans and Bragg fight it out; Burnside liberates East Tennessee. After the victory at Chickamauga; Bragg and Longstreet find they cannot "play well together". Bragg can find no useful role for Longstreet at Chattanooga. In a questionable decision; Bragg sends Longstreet to reestablish control of East Tennessee. Both sides find themselves involved in a campaign that neither really wants; is prepared to fight or has the resources to fully support. While Knoxville might be a sideshow; the battles are real; wounds as painful and death as finial.We know Longstreet's Corps but Burnside's command is unfamiliar to most of us. Rather than tie the reader up with tactical details; the author presents operational details as required. Much of the story is told from a brigade or division perspective. This allows us to understand the important issues as we follow the course of the campaign. Additionally; this allows for maps that are more general. The result is an easy to follow narrative that never bogs down in details but stays focused on the major issues and personalities. Readers looking for a detailed; brigade regiment level detailed study will not find it here. This is an excellent look at the whole campaign with emphases on cause; actions and effect. Each operation builds the foundation for the next one in a logical understandable series of events.Some use Knoxville to disparage one or both commanders. The author takes a close look at this in a well-reasoned section on what each did right and wrong. Longstreet receives most of the coverage here. Both for what he did do; what he didn't do and what was possible for him to do. The court martial and bitterness from Knoxville colored stories and still cause problems for historians. Again; the author presents this in a fair balance way without an agenda.This book is an example of why I always read a Hess book. It is intelligent; informative; covers the subject and fair to all sides.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Model Civil War Campaign HistoryBy WALEarl Hess has produced another clear and informative Civil War study covering operations in East Tennessee in late 1863. Of the authors writing Civil War battle and campaign history today; he has an almost unique ability to integrate and contextualize grand strategy; campaign strategy; and tactics; all without application of too much hindsight. This is key to providing insight into why events unfolded as they did. For example; I found it helpful to learn that both Bragg and Grant had the same idea in launching the campaign; namely to draw the opposing side away from the on-going siege of Chattanooga using Longstreet (replacing Stevenson) and Burnside; respectively.In perspective; the Knoxville campaign demonstrates the superiority of the Union staff work compared to that of the Confederates. This is especially evident in the conduct of the IX Corps retreat to Knoxville; the preparations for defending and provisioning Knoxville; and the halting start to Longstreet’s advance. Indeed; given the absence of numerical superiority and paucity of resources of the Confederate forces; the odds of a successful outcome seem long indeed.Perhaps a reason that Jefferson Davis and Bragg thought that Longstreet could be successful was that his opponent was Burnside. However; the book makes clear that Burnside handled the retreat and siege skillfully; and was able to successfully delegate tasks to his subordinates; an advantage that Longstreet didn’t have. This is another aspect that Hess brings to his books; namely he doesn’t let current stereotypes color his writing and analysis. If your only basis for judging Burnside is the battle of Fredericksburg; the outcome of the Knoxville campaign is virtually incomprehensible.Along with Grant (using continuous engagement in the Overland Campaign to keep the initiative from RE Lee); Longstreet; in his use of columns of brigades in attack; was a tactical innovator in the Civil War; it seems to me. This brought great success at 2nd Bull Run and Chickamauga; but failed at Knoxville; stymied by the ditch around Fort Sanders.There were a couple of typographical errors; and the book could use a better map of the area between Knoxville and the Cumberland gap and detailed schematics of Fort Sanders.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Solid History of an Underrated CampaignBy RA9876I think historians and Civil War buffs underestimate the importance of the Knoxville Campaign to the outcome of the Civil War. While Burnside and the Ninth Corps and Longstreet and the Army of Northern Virginia First Corps were in Kentucky; Mississippi; Georgia; and East Tennessee; the focus of the war also shifted entirely away from Virginia; to the Western Theater; and stayed there until Burnside and Longstreet returned to Virginia.This book takes mountains of information from an amazingly huge bibliography and assembles and organizes it into a readable narrative. The story focuses on the time frame that starts with Burnside and the Ninth Corps leaving the Army of the Potomac; and ends with Longstreet returning his Corps to Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. There is a brief and succinct summary of war time events in East Tennessee leading up to General Burnside's entry.The book shows a deep comprehension of the topography; personalities; situations; issues; tactics; strategies; and armies involved in the campaign. Author Earl Hess also includes extra goodies: all the requisite photos; illustrations; and maps; Orders of Battle for: the Siege; Sherman's Relief; Walker's Ford; and Bean's Station; a rundown of the location of forts and redoubts used by the Army of the Ohio in the defense of Knoxville; including the commanders and guns in each position; a list of photos and paintings inspired by the battle; info on the monuments erected to the troops involved; what remains of the sites today; and efforts to preserve them.The valley of East Tennessee was isolated by mountains all around and broken up by multiple rivers. The only efficient ways to get in or out were the ET Ga RR to Chattanooga and the ET Va RR into Virginia. As such it was barely possible to sustain a small army here; and impossible to supply a major offensive. As a result Longstreet's soldiers and their Yankee counterparts eyed each other across the picket lines; skirmished over the leftovers of the corn harvest; and dreamed pipe dreams of invading Kentucky; or going back to Virginia; any place but this dreadful East Tennessee.For someone who has previously read some of the history of East Tennessee and is familiar with the geography of the region; the narrative perfectly puts each event into perspective as each action falls into place in the chronology. For someone mainly familiar with the Virginia campaigns; it will take a little browsing of Google maps of Tennessee; and a couple of readings of the orders of battle; and some consultation of biographies for the less familiar names; before everything makes complete sense; but the effort I think is well worth it. Besides just Burnside and Longstreet; there were many other illustrious names present in the region: Sherman; Thomas; Buell; Schofield; Sheridan; Andrew Johnson; Kirby Smith; Simon B. Buckner; James Vaughn; McLaws; Micah Jenkins; Porter Alexander; and Joseph Wheeler all played a part at some point in East Tennessee.Every fan of the Civil War should read this book; if for no other reason than to make up for the long absence of information on East Tennessee in the Civil War.
