Customer Reviews

All Cut to Pieces and Gone to Hell

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I was reluctant to make the purchase, I am now glad I did. "All cut to pieces and gone to Hell" is a very atypical civil war book. First, it is an edited collection of essays rather than a battle monograph or campaign study. Second, it is primarily a study of the circumstances surrounding an infamous atrocity at a small battle in Arkansas. Finally, for such a controversial and potentially explosive topic, the tone is refreshingly measured rather than a shrill condemnation or derisively dismissive defense.

The controversy surrounding Poison Spring arises from the massacre of black wounded and prisoners by rebel soldiers and officers. The accounts presented in the book by both sides reveal that the massacre was not accidental, coincidental, or unsanctioned by the officers. The rebels also killed most of the white troops who fell into their hands. The Confederate Choctaw regiment present also scalped these men. Interestingly, the other US Colored unit present would later retaliate against the Confederate troops by attempting to kill all enemy wounded in their area of the field at Jenkins' Ferry. This was a conscious decision made by the full officer staff of the regiment shortly after Poison Spring.

What editor Mark Christ has done is to compile relevant essays by various authors that outline conditions and events preceding that fateful battle at Poison Spring, Arkansas. In spite of the essay format, this work flows well and is an easy read. At only 147 pages including notes and index, it is a brief work. Each essay has endnotes that also serve as the bibliography. Illustrations and photos are adequate, but the two tiny maps are insufficient.

After Dr. DeBlack's essay overview of the setting of the Camden expedition, the essays shift to the heart of the work. Carl Moneyhon presents an excellent examination of the Southern population's views toward slaves, free blacks, and black soldiers. The core of this is a fascinating explanation of paternalism, the fear of slave insurrection, coupled with contradictory delusions that slaves would remain loyal. This does much to explain the motives and rationale for events that would follow. The concept of blacks fighting their former masters was considered a betrayal and insurrection for which the only punishment that would restore the former order was death.

From there, Ronnie Nichols reviews the changing roles of blacks in the military before and during the war. He points out that until 1820, blacks had been allowed in the U.S. military and that thousands had served faithfully in the in the Revolution and the War of 1812. The era of the Missouri Compromise changed that. The 1857 Dred Scott decision removed much of the remaining protection that free blacks had gained, and in 1860 Arkansas passed legislation to expel all free Negroes. Although nearly 180,000 blacks would eventually serve in the Union army, initial acceptance of black regiments was slow. The various Confiscation acts began to strip slaveholders of their labor and by late 1862 a few black units had formed.

Frank Arey's essay on the 1st Kansas Colored Troops at Honey Springs explores what might have been a contributing factor to the Poison Spring massacre: the same black unit badly mauled the 29th Texas, forcing them to abandon their colors. The Texans sought vengeance in Arkansas. The author's examination of Honey Springs' accounts from both sides revealed no indications of atrocities by black troops.

Potential readers are reminded that this is not a detailed battle study. Dr. Gregory Urwin wrote the final chapter that recounts the engagement at Poison Spring, the aftermath, and retribution at Jenkins' Ferry. While it is fairly detailed in some particulars, it is not a complete package. The hard to find (out of print) "Steele's Retreat from Camden and the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry" by Edwin C. Bearss covers the Poison Spring battle reasonably well. (Bearss book devotes about 41 pages to the Poison Spring engagement, with a single, fairly detailed tactical map, order of battle, and unit casualty tabulations.) Urwin's tactical map is a very small and greatly simplified diagram based on Bearss' map. Taken together, this book and Bearss' work present the battle well.

The superb examination and summary of Southern race relations make this book a worthwhile read and should open a few eyes. This is also a book that will dispel doubts as to whether or not claims of atrocities versus black troops were valid or vastly overstated.

This telling of the events of the spring of 1864 is well researched and well told. It moves well without sacrificing to historical accuracy. There is plenty of good history but with the show of humanity found in this little known portion of the American Civil War.

Expertly compiled and painstakingly edited by Civil War expert Mark K. Christ, "All Cut To Pieces And Gone To Hell" carefully examines an April 18, 1864 massacre of black Union soldiers by Confederate troops. Distilling the role race relations played in the conflict, and why the usual rules of engagement were ignored in favor of wholesale bloodshed, "All Cut To Pieces And Gone To Hell" uses a variety of Civil War historical resources to expertly piece together a truly human understanding of a particular aspect of civil war history.