New History Press Title Deals with Perryville

Here's a new release from the History Press:  Maney's Confederate Brigade at the Battle of Perryville (Civil War Sesquicentennial)




On October 8, 1862, forty thousand Union and Confederate soldiers clashed at Perryville, Kentucky, in the state’s largest Civil War battle. Of those who fought, none endured as much as the Tennessee and Georgia soldiers who composed Brigadier General George Maney’s brigade. The Confederate unit entered the fray to save other Southern regiments and, in doing so, experienced deadly resistance. Many of those involved called the brigade’s encounter the toughest of the Civil War, as several of Maney’s regiments suffered casualties of 50 percent or greater. Despite relentless fighting, the Confederates were unable to break the Union line, and the Bluegrass State remained in Federal control. Join Kentucky Historical Society’s Stuart W. Sanders as he chronicles Maney’s brigade in the Battle of Perryville.

Meet the author

 

June 1 at 2:00 p.m. @ Jack Jouett House (Versailles, KY)

 June 5 at 7 p.m. @ Hoosier Blue and Gray Civil War Round table (Mt. Auburn, IN)

July 8 at 7:30 p.m. @ Harrodsburg Historical Society (Harrodsburg, KY)

August 21 at 7 p.m. @ Oldham County Historical Society (LaGrange, KY)

Monday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. @ Boyle County Genealogical Society at the Boyle County Library (Danville, KY)

Additional events TBA.

Press Release--LSU Press to Publish In-Depth Study of Civil War Border Conflict

LSU Press to Publish In-Depth Study of Civil War Border Conflict

Aaron Astor Explores the Transformation of Politics in Kentucky and Missouri

"This volume stands to redefine Civil War and Border State studies."-Anne E. Marshall, author of "Creating a Confederate Kentucky: The Lost Cause and Civil War Memory in a Border State"

"Fast-paced, sharply written, and deeply researched."-Stanley Harrold, author of "Border War: Fighting over Slavery before the Civil War"

Baton Rouge, LA-"Rebels on the Border" offers a remarkably compelling and significant study of the Civil War South's highly contested and bloodiest border states: Kentucky and Missouri. By far the most complex examination to date, the book sharply focuses on the "borderland" between the free North and the Confederate South. As a result, "Rebels on the Border" deepens and enhances understanding of the sectional conflict, the Civil War, and Reconstruction.

Astor contends that after slaves in central Kentucky and Missouri gained their emancipation they transformed their communities. Informal kin and social networks of resistance against slavery became formalized processes of electoral participation and institution building. At the same time, white politics in Kentucky's Bluegrass and Missouri's Little Dixie underwent an electoral realignment in response to the racial and social revolution caused by the war and its aftermath. Black citizenship and voting rights provoked a violent white reaction and a cultural reinterpretation of white regional identity. After the war, the majority of wartime Unionists in the Bluegrass and Little Dixie joined former Confederate guerrillas in the Democratic Party in an effort to stifle the political ambitions of former slaves.

"Rebels on the Border" is not simply a story of bitter political struggles, partisan guerrilla warfare, and racial violence. Like no other scholarly account of Kentucky and Missouri during the Civil War, it places these two crucial heartland states within the broad context of local, southern, and national politics.

Aaron Astor is assistant professor of history at Maryville College.


May 2012
344 pages, 6 x 9, 3 maps
ISBN 978-0-8071-4298-1
Cloth $47.50

Book Review--Confederate Outlaw

McKnight, Brian D.  Confederate Outlaw: Champ Ferguson and the Civil War in Appalachia.  L.S.U. Press, Baton Rouge, LA. 2011. Index, bibliography, notes, map, b/w photos. 252 pages, 192 text. ISBN 9780807137697, $34.95.
Guerrilla fighters during the Civil War were a feared breed and perhaps the most feared of all was the legendary, or maybe infamous is a better word, Champ Ferguson. In his new book Confederate Outlaw, Brian McKnight shows Ferguson for what he was; a ruthless cold blooded killer who could still at rare times show compassion. Ferguson was at times working with small groups while at other times he served under men like John Hunt Morgan, Basil Duke, and George Dibbrell. This service and its ramifications is the subject of part of this book.

McKnight begins his book with an introduction where he discusses the literature of guerrilla warfare and Ferguson's place. Ferguson is portrayed as a product of his time and place. Home front paranoia, questions of loyalty and pragmatism are all related in the attempt to understand not just Ferguson but the Appalachian region during the Civil War period. Throughout, Ferguson claims his acts are in self defense. If he didn't act first his victims would have killed him instead.

Ferguson's murderous spree begins with the murder of Constable Reed in a particularly violent fashion. Ultimately Ferguson is tied to over 50 murders many of which are graphically detailed by McKnight. While graphic, these descriptions are needed to help paint the picture of the type man Ferguson was. Guerrilla war was often kill or be killed and Ferguson was an aggressor who cared little as to who he killed or how he did it.

When finally arrested in May of 1865 and brought to trial later that year there could be little doubt as to the ultimate outcome. Brought up on 23 cases involving 53 murders Ferguson plead not guilty. Ferguson and his attorney attempted to portray the guerrilla fighter as a captain in the Confederate army. As such he would be entitled to be treated as other officers based upon the terms of surrender. The defense was unable to provide proof of any appointment and this defense was denied ultimately leading to a guilty verdict. Champ Ferguson's reign of terror came to an end at the end of a rope on October 20, 1865.

McKnight nicely wraps up his work with a chapter outlining attempts to explain the Champ Ferguson mythology. Often repeated, but false, stories about his family having been assaulted or killed by Union soldiers led to the theory of revenge and family protection being motives for his actions. Other stories revolve around the murder of Ferguson's three year old son. Again this untrue story is given as a reason for Ferguson and his aim of vengeance. Perhaps the biggest claim however is of Ferguson being a Confederate officer. Ferguson however was never able to produce proof of an officer's commission and McKnight's extensive research does not validate the claim. Finally, as with almost all notorious individuals, there was an escape mythology. Stories ranged from Ferguson having "bought" his freedom and another man being hung to a dummy being hung in his place to an empty coffin being buried.

Brian McKnight has written an extremely readable book that should be on the shelves of anybody studying Civil War guerrilla warfare or the Civil War period in the Tennessee and Kentucky Appalachian area. Any future research on Champ Ferguson should go through this work as a starting point.

Thanks to the fine folks at L.S.U. Press for sending a complimentary review copy.

Book Review--My Old Confederate Home

Williams, Rusty. My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans. The University Press of Kentucky; Lexington, Kentucky. 313 pages 267 pages of text. B/W photos, index, bibliography, notes. 2010. ISBN 9780813125824. $34.95.

Americans have always felt a duty and obligation to their soldiers. This was especially true for those living in the former Confederate states where the federal government was of course unwilling to supply for the needs of those once considered to be traitors. If support was to be provided for Johnny Rebs it was left up to state governments, concerned citizens, and Confederate veterans groups (which would come to include the United Daughters of the Confederacy) to accommodate the physical needs, health issues, and as Rusty Williams adds provide a "respectable place" for the aging Confederate populations.

States met with varying degrees of success in providing for Confederate soldiers. There were funds to be raised, property to be purchased, staff to be hired and trained, funds to be raised, and even more funds to be raised. In My Old Confederate Home Rusty Williams presents the story of the Kentucky Confederate home. While not a Confederate state in the sense that it did not secede there was a strong Confederate feeling both during and after the war. Varying groups wanted to be in the lead of building a Confederate home in Kentucky. Despite the political bickering the home was founded in 1902 in a closed luxury hotel in Pewee Valley. While not originally welcomed in the area the home became a fixture in the community and children even played on the grounds. Soldiers were not always known by name but they were known. The home brought a limited number of jobs to the area as well as provided revenue from those who came to visit.

As veterans aged it became inevitable that some met monetary success while others struggled. The story of the home is really the story of the soldiers and the people who help run the home. We meet men like Billy Beasley who is given a second chance at life and prospers running a newspaper stand courtesy of fellow veterans. We come face to face with the varying management styles of Commandants William Coleman, Henry George, Charles Daughtry, and Alexander McFarlane. These are the men who  dealt with the day to day issues of the home. From providing nutritious yet interesting meals, to entertainment, to passing down discipline, these men dealt with a multitude of difficulties but met the job head on. We see veterans like James H. Mocabee who was caught red handed smuggling whiskey into the home. Veteran Alexander N. White was known as an inmate Reverend and had a reputation for preaching and also for being a busybody. It is this human touch and bringing soldiers to life that helps make Williams book such a success.

While this is the story of the Kentucky Confederate Home this book also becomes a social history of the early twentieth century. The world was rapidly changing as would things in Pewee Valley. Women were becoming more vocal in their quest for equality. The Confederate Home was not immune to this as the United Daughters of the Confederacy became a well meaning fly in their ointment. These women were interested in making sure the veterans were properly cared for. This meant good food, good medical care, good mental stimulation, but also they wanted a part of the decision making process. While the Board of Directors remained a bastion of maledom there was little doubt times were changing. 1914 became a key year for the home in many ways. In 1914 the home began to lose inmates (by using the definition from the time frame an inmate is "one who lives in the same house or apartment with another" and not the negative association we have with the word today ). More veterans were dying than were being admitted. Also, during this time frame the outbreak of World War I led to a shifting of priorities. Part of the property was taken by the Red Cross for it's work. Veterans returning from oversees were seemingly given priority. In 1920 a major fire damaged much of the property but led to no lose of life. Despite a rebuilding the home was never the same. As Williams points out the home was rapidly losing residents. By 1929 less than 35 men lived in the home. This coupled with the fact that more than 9 out of 10 residents of Kentucky were born after the Civil War led to a strong shift in priorities. By the time of the Great Depression the home housed less than a dozen residents. No longer was the home politically needed nor was it financially viable. By mid 1934 the home was closed and the last five residents were moved to a local sanitarium.

In My Old Confederate Home Rusty Williams has written an important book. It is important we realize the war did not end once the guns and swords were put down. For many men they were dealing with it's realities for the rest of their lives. Homes like those at Pewee Valley played an important last role in these men's lives. Using primary documents for much of his work Williams has provided these veterans with a more than respectable tribute. Highly recommended.

Be sure to check out Rusty's blog here. It hasn't been updated in a while but there is some interesting information there.