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Louisiana State University Press
The following review appeared in the November 2016 issue of CHOICE. The review is for your internal use only. Please review our Permission and Reprints Guidelines or email permissions@ala-choice.org.
Social & Behavioral Sciences
History, Geography & Area Studies - North America
Despite the vast amount written on the Civil War, imaginative scholars find new aspects of the conflict and sources to explore them. Stith (Univ. of Texas at Tyler) takes on several of these topics. The trans-Mississippi, long neglected, was the site of more action than older accounts recognized, and by bringing in the also long-neglected topic of guerrilla warfare, Stith makes an important contribution to understanding the region and enriches understanding of the Civil War. His focus is the borderland where Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Indian Territory met. This was a diverse area where Native Americans and (mostly enslaved) African Americans made up 30 percent of the population. Much of this conflict predated the outbreak of war and was a carry-over from the debate, often violent, over the expansion of slavery into the territories. Stith takes a very broad approach, bringing environmental issues, such as drought and harsh winter weather, into the discussion. While the area studied is small and seemingly on the fringe of the Civil War, the issues Stith raises have much to say about the nature of the conflict between North and South.
--W. H. Mulligan Jr., Murray State University