The Civil War in Arizona: The Story of the California Volunteers, 1861–1865 - Softcover

Masich, Andrew E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0806139005 ISBN 13: 9780806139005

Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press, 2008

Synopsis

Bull Run, Gettysburg, Appomattox. For Americans, these battlegrounds, all located in the eastern United States, will forever be associated with the Civil War. But few realize that the Civil War was also fought far to the west of these sites. The westernmost battle of the war took place in the remote deserts of the future state of Arizona.

In this first book-length account of the Civil War in Arizona, Andrew E. Masich offers both a lively narrative history of the all-but-forgotten California Column in wartime Arizona and a rare compilation of letters written by the volunteer soldiers who served in the U.S. Army from 1861 to 1866. Enriched by Masich’s meticulous annotation, these letters provide firsthand testimony of the grueling desert conditions the soldiers endured as they fought on many fronts.

Southwest Book Award
Border Regional Library Association

Southwest Book of the Year
Pima County Public Library

NYMAS Civil War Book Award
New York Military Affairs Symposium

About this title

About the Author:

Andrew E. Masich is President and CEO of the Smithsonian-affiliated Senator John Heinz History Center and teaches history at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He is author of The Civil War in Arizona: The Story of the California Volunteers, 1861-1865 and coauthor of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers: A Ledgerbook History of Coups and Combat and Halfbreed: The Remarkable True Story of George Bent.
 

Review:

"Riveting--a provocative study of human conflict and development that is both relevant and exceedingly well written." -- Civil War Book Review

"...a valuable study of the California volunteers' service in Arizona during the Civil War." -- Blue & Gray Magazine

"...an excellent history of a neglected topic and will be of especial interest to students of the Civil War in the West and Western history in general." -- The Civil War News

"Would that all histories could blend source materials with historical reviews so smoothly! The letters clearly depict conditions, experiences and observations, while the survey provides needed background for those without extensive Civil War history behind them." -- The Midwest Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0806139005
• ISBN 13: 9780806139005
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 384