Up from Arkansas: Marmaduke's First Missouri Raid, Including the Battles of Springfield and Hartville (Paperback)

by Frederick W. Goman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Foundation (1999)
• ASIN: B0006R9YS6
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,341,405 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Compact and informative work fills an important gap, July 25, 2007

By	Red Harvest (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews

"Up from Arkansas" proved a welcome surprise. Having no opportunity to peruse the pages before ordering, I nonetheless gambled with the purchase, hoping that it would prove an interesting read about an obscure raid. Author Frederick Goman delivers with a focused account of the events. As the title indicates, the 2nd Battle of Springfield and the Battle of Hartville are the primary subjects of the study of this raid.

This, Marmaduke's First Missouri Raid, was an important strategic success that relieved the Union pressure on Arkansas by creating chaos for the Federals in Missouri. The two primary engagements at Springfield and Hartville were relatively small but bloody affairs. Tactically, Marmaduke's troopers were unable to break the Union defenses at Springfield and had only mixed success at Hartville while suffering heavy casualties. Although one major objective, Springfield's supply depot, was not captured, the raid did prove successful in disrupting Union initiatives elsewhere. As such it was a harbinger of greater raids to follow.

Some of the most relevant and interesting information concerning the defense of Springfield comes from the description of the formation of the "quinine brigade" and the improvised artillery battery. Another nice touch was the detailed tactical description of reforming the militia under fire. The author states unit strengths in the narrative, and also describes the artillery well.

Goman summarizes casualty estimates from each engagement, filling in blanks where possible. This is very helpful to the reader since claims in some sources were not particularly credible or logical. His conclusions about the raid's impact seem accurate and are in agreement with other appraisals.

While the overall structure of the narrative is good, some of the transitions are hard to follow. The author begins with an improbably detailed impression of U.S. Brig. Gen. Egbert Brown's inner thoughts. He then switches back to a more plausible factual accounting for the remainder of the work. The introduction to the deadfall trap at Hartville is somewhat muddled on the first read and could use some polishing.

There is no index. There are a few typos scattered about, but nothing too painful. In fact, there are fewer typos than in most comparable works.

Adding troop positions to the maps for the various phases of the Springfield battle would have been a big plus. With the current arrangement the reader will have to determine unit locations based on the text. It is particularly unfortunate that there is no map of the Hartville engagement as well.

The primary narrative consists of 82 pages; but 9 of these are photos/maps/woodcuts, and 7 more are blank separation pages, leaving only 66 pages of narrative text. Following the narrative are: a four page bibliography; a brief appendix of infantry, cavalry and artillery tactics; an appendix containing the CSA raiders' order of battle, as well Union orders of battle for both Springfield and Hartville; an appendix list of known individual casualties; an appendix of the Springfield depot supply tallies; and 7 pages of notes.

I heartily recommend this inexpensive work (when it can be found at its initial price) to those studying the war in Missouri and Arkansas. Although brief and containing some flaws, this welcome addition details a largely forgotten yet important raid. It is a work that I hope will be revised and expanded as well.