I highly recommend this book.The following is a list of other books associated with Guerrillas, Jayhawkers, Red Legs and the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi that I recommend:
Quantrill and the Border Wars by William Elsey Connelley Quantrill and the Border Wars
A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War by Daniel E. Sutherland (highly recommended) A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War (Civil War America)
Jayhawkers: The Civil War Brigade of James Henry Lane by Bryce D. Benedict Jayhawkers: The Civil War Brigade of James Henry Lane
Jennison's Jayhawkers: A Civil War Cavalry Regiment and Its Commander by Stephen Z. Starr Jennison's Jayhawkers: A Civil War Cavalry Regiment and Its Commander (Civil War Paperbacks)
Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West by William L. Shea and Earl J. Hess Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West
The Devil Knows How to Ride: The True Story of William Clarke Quantrill by Edward E. Leslie The Devil Knows How To Ride: The True Story Of William Clarke Quantril And His Confederate Raiders
Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865 by Thomas Goodrich Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865: A Riveting Account of a Bloody Chapter in Civil War History
The Border Between Them: Violence and Reconcilliation on the Kansas-Missouri Line by Jeremy Neely The Border Between Them: Violence and Reconciliation on the Kansas-missouri Line
Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and His Myth by Joseph G. Rosa (highly recommended) Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and His Myth
As much as I liked Starr's book, I got the feeling that he really lost interest in Jennison after Jennison left the Seventh, and that he didn't like Jennison all that much anyway. He did a fine job on the Seventh's redemption, but he almost grudgingly gave Jennison credit for turning the battle at Westport. It's got to be hard to write about a character you dislike, even to the point of seemingly not wanting to recognize *any* good in him. Kinda like Connelley and Quantrill, I guess.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it would have been a better book if he had wrapped up Jennison in half a chapter after May, 1862.
Matt... Great work here! I think, once you are ready, there is probably one of the most ground-breaking publishable works on a topic that hasn't been developed enough by Civil War historians in the last 20 years!
ReplyDeleteJoe Rosa is working on expanding what is known of "Wild Bill" Hickok's Civil War history, since that is where his post Civil War reputation stemmed from after the duel with Davis Tutt, in Springfield, Missouri. What is known is sketchy, but Joe is starting to fill in the blanks. And, while Hickok's field of work as a wagon master, policeman, scout, spy and detective was in SW Missouri and Arkansas for the most part, and was not a Red-Leg, he absolutely the fraternity of men you reference. I look forward to hearing more, and if I can add anything of value, I will most certainly do so.
Howard Mann