Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West - Softcover

Shea, William L.; Hess, Earl J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0807820423 ISBN 13: 9780807820421

Publisher: University of North Carolina Press, 1992

Synopsis

The first definitive study of a Civil War battle in the Trans-Mississippi shows how the battle of Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas dramatically altered the balance of power and helped ensure the Union triumph sealed in Appomattox.

About this title

About the Authors

William L. Shea, professor of history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, is author of The Virginia Militia in the Seventeenth Century.

Earl J. Hess is Stewart W. McClelland Chair in history at Lincoln Memorial University. He is author of several books, including Lee's Tar Heels: The Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade and Pickett's Charge--The Last Attack at Gettysburg.

Reviews

With its exhaustive research and lively prose style, this military study is virtually a model work of its kind. Shea and Hess, who teach history at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Lincoln Memorial University (Tenn.), respectively, convincingly argue that the 1862 campaign for Pea Ridge (Ark.) decisively changed the balance of power in the West, with the Union gaining effective control of Missouri. Samuel Curtis, commander of the Federal Army of the Southwest, understood the strategic requirements of his theater, according to the authors, and elicited the best performance from his troops, even though they were beset by internal tensions. The Southern commander, Earl van Dorn, the authors maintain, was a swashbuckler out of his depth--particularly in light of the administrative weaknesses of the trans-Mississippi Confederacy. Their detailed analysis of the climactic battle impressively conveys the difficulties of the improvised armies that groped for and grappled with each other in the Civil War West. Illustrations not seen by PW. BOMC and History Book Club selections.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The battle of Pea Ridge, fought in northwestern Arkansas in March 1862, was probably the most important trans-Mississippi battle of the Civil War. It was unusual in the use of Indian troops and in the Confederates' numerical superiority, better supplies, and inferior leadership. The battle ended any serious Confederate threat to Missouri and opened the Union's path into Arkansas. The book offers the rich tactical detail, maps, and order of battle that military scholars love but retains a very readable style combined with liberal use of recollections of the troops and leaders involved. Shea (history, Univ. of Arkansas) and Hess (history, Lincoln Memorial Univ.) do, however, suffer from a touch of logorrhea; the narrative rumbles along for nearly 100 pages after the battle ends. Nonetheless, this is an important book for academic libraries and for public libraries in the region. BOMC and History Book Club selections.
- Fritz Buckallew, Univ. of Central Oklahoma Lib., Edmond
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807820423
• ISBN 13: 9780807820421
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432