The Battle of Okolona


Book Description

This book details the campaign in the Mississippi prairie in February of 1864, beginning with a look at the Prairie and the railroad. It covers the Union plans for the campaign, the Confederate plans for defense, and narrates the campaign from General William Sooy Smith's arrival in the Mississippi prairie to General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate cavalry victory at Okolona, saving the Mississippi prairie from total destruction by fire. A walking, guided tour of extant, preserved sites is also included in this text.




The Battle of Brice's Crossroads


Book Description

The history of this unexpected Confederate victory in Civil War Mississippi, told through a collection of first-person soldier accounts. An insignificant crossroads in northeast Mississippi was an unlikely battleground for one of the most spectacular Confederate victories in the western theater of the Civil War. But that is where two generals determined destiny for their men. Union general Samuel D. Sturgis looked to redeem his past military record, while hard-fighting Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest aimed to drive the Union army out of Mississippi or die trying. In the hot June sun, their armies collided for control of north Mississippi in a story of courage, overwhelming odds, and American spirit. In this book, Stewart Bennett retells the day’s saga through a wealth of first-person soldier accounts. Includes photos




The Battle of West Point: Confederate Triumph at Ellis Bridge


Book Description

On February 21, 1864, Confederate and Union forces faced off over the banks of the Chuquatonchee Creek on Ellis Bridge in West Point, Mississippi. This three-hour battle pitted Nathan Bedford Forrest with his small but mighty cavalry against William Sooy Smith and his dogged Federal troops as they attempted to push through the prairie and destroy the railroad junction in Meridian. Smith's men did not succeed in their mission and suffered heavy casualties at the hands of Forrest in a precursor to the Battle of Okolona. Author John McBryde details the nuances of the battle that initiated Rebel opposition to the Meridian Campaign, including accounts from West Point locals of the time.




Confederate Military History


Book Description




The Second Battle of Cabin Creek: Brilliant Victory


Book Description

The commander of the three-hundred-wagon Union supply train never expected a large ragtag group of Texans and Native Americans to attack during the dark of night in Union-held territory. But Brigadier Generals Richard Gano and Stand Watie defeated the unsuspecting Federals in the early morning hours of September 19, 1864, at Cabin Creek in the Cherokee nation. The legendary Watie, the only Native American general on either side, planned details of the raid for months. His preparation paid off--the Confederate troops captured wagons with supplies that would be worth more than $75 million today. Writer, producer and historian Steve Warren uncovers the untold story of the last raid at Cabin Creek in this Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal-winning history.




Mississippi Scenes


Book Description




The Battle of White Sulphur Springs


Book Description

Though West Virginia was founded for the purpose of remaining loyal to the Union, severing ties with Virginia, home of the capital of the Confederacy, would prove difficult. West Virginia's fate would be tested on its battlegrounds. In August 1863, Union general William Woods Averell led a six-hundred-mile raid culminating in the Battle of White Sulphur Springs in Green Brier County. Colonel George S. Patton, grandfather of the legendary World War II general, met Averell with a dedicated Confederate force. After a fierce two-day battle, Patton defeated Averell, forcing him to retreat and leave West Virginia, and ultimately the Union, in the balance. Civil War historian Eric J. Wittenberg presents a fascinating in-depth analysis of the proceedings in the first book-length study of this important battle.




"This Day We Marched Again"


Book Description

A testament to the valor and determination of a common soldier On September 17, 1861, twenty-two-year-old Jacob Haas enlisted in the Sheboygan Tigers, a company of German immigrants that became Company A of the Ninth Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Over the next three years, Haas and his comrades marched thousands of miles and saw service in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and the Indian Territory, including pitched battles at Newtonia, Missouri, and Jenkins’ Ferry, Arkansas. Haas describes the war from the perspective of a private soldier and an immigrant as he marches through scorching summers and brutally cold winters to fight in some of the most savage combat in the west. His diary shows us an extraordinary story of the valor and determination of a volunteer soldier. Though his health was ruined by war, Haas voiced no regrets for the price he paid to fight for his adopted country.




Mississippi's Civil War Battlefields


Book Description

“Crisp and concise . . . As the nation prepares to commemorate the sesquicentennial of the conflict in which brother fought brother, the current state of preservation that Bishop provides for each of these sites is timely and helps underscore the significance of Mississippi’s rich Civil War heritage.” —Terrence J. Winschel, historian, Vicksburg National Military Park, and author, Triumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign Between the years of 1862 and 1864, Mississippi was the site of such conflicts as the Battle of Corinth and the Siege of Vicksburg. This history book covers the fourteen major skirmishes that took place within the Magnolia State during the Civil War and offers a detailed description of each location’s current state of preservation. The maintenance of these sites are necessary to memorialize the more than 80,000 forgotten men who fought in these battles. In chronological order, sixteen chapters discuss each skirmish in detail and include firsthand accounts from those embroiled in the fighting, which depict the conditions faced throughout the series of conflicts. Photographs taken during the Civil War along with images of the sites today offer a past and present perspective of the battles that occurred within Mississippi’s boundaries.




A New History of the American South


Book Description

For at least two centuries, the South's economy, politics, religion, race relations, fiction, music, foodways and more have figured prominently in nearly all facets of American life. In A New History of the American South, W. Fitzhugh Brundage joins a stellar group of accomplished historians in gracefully weaving a new narrative of southern history from its ancient past to the present. This groundbreaking work draws on both well-established and new currents in scholarship, among them global and Atlantic world history, histories of African diaspora, and environmental history. The volume also considers the experiences of all people of the South: Black, white, Indigenous, female, male, poor, and elite. Together, the essays compose a seamless, cogent, and engaging work that can be read cover to cover or sampled at leisure. Contributors are Peter A. Coclanis, Gregory P. Downs, Laura F. Edwards, Robbie Ethridge, Kari Frederickson, Paul Harvey, Kenneth R. Janken, Martha S. Jones, Blair L. M. Kelley, Kate Masur, Michael A. McDonnell, Scott Reynolds Nelson, James D. Rice, Natalie J. Ring, and Jon F. Sensbach.