Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865 [Hardcover]

Thomas Goodrich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1995

" . . . compelling, dramatic, and well-written . . . " --Journal of Southern History

". . . compelling narrative of four years of virtually unmitigated savagery." --Blue & Gray Magazine

"[A] thorough and comprehensive study of this tragic, almost forgotten episode of American history." --History

A riveting eyewitness account of the bloody guerrilla fighting that raged along the Missouri-Kansas border during the Civil War. Drawing from a wide array of contemporary documents--including diaries, letters, and first-hand newspaper accounts--Thomas Goodrich presents a hair-raising report of life in this merciless guerrilla war.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of history's most bitter irregular conflicts was waged in Kansas and Missouri before and during the Civil War. Goodrich (Bloody Dawn) reconstructs its horror through extensive quotation from letters, diaries and reports. He depicts a situation wherein a conflict's original causes gave way to young men who kept fighting because they knew no other way of life. Whether Union or Confederate, they turned the concepts of mercy and honor into grisly jokes as reciprocal massacre, destruction of property and victimization of noncombatants reduced life on the Trans-Mississippi frontier to a Hobbesian state for all. This compelling work highlights the wisdom of the Confederacy's leaders in surrendering in 1865 rather than continuing what would now be called a low-intensity conflict and whose results would have been incalculably disastrous. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The Civil War on the Kansas-Missouri border was initially fought by Bushwhackers and Jayhawkers, guerrillas from Missouri and Kansas, respectively. Union troops mostly displaced the Jayhawkers by 1862, but the Bushwhackers remained active until Lee's surrender. Historian Goodrich describes the death and destruction the guerrilla war wrought on this region through excerpts from diaries, letters, local news accounts, and published articles, letting the victims do most of the talking. Citing cases that graphically underscore the terrorism, Goodrich captures the fear of the populace. He indulges in a few overly dramatic statements, and a book so dependent on excerpts should have endnotes. Still, a number of recent regional publications on this topic do not achieve Goodrich's scope. This title should be considered for public libraries with strong Civil War collections.
Robert C. Moore, DuPont Merck Pharmaceutical Co. Information Svcs., North Billerica, Mass.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 172 pages
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr; 1St Edition edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253325994
• ISBN-13: 978-0253325990
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,342,859 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No One Was a Hero, March 19, 2006

By 

Steven E. Courtney "just a guy who loves movies" (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865: A Riveting Account of a Bloody Chapter in Civil War History (Paperback)

As the title states, this is indeed a riveting acccount of this era and place. Although a slim volume, this book is definitely a page-turner that is very well written and balanced with anecdotes, eyewitness accounts, and newspaper articles from the time.

With most histories it is easy to take sides in hindsight, or to proclaim who was right or wrong. Not so with the border war, where there were no heroes, no shining hour of courage, no happy ending to years of suffering. Both sides lost the battle as the border war raged. This is American History in its darkest time as lawlessness ruled, as the eyes of a nation were riveted on "big" battles to the east.

Although I was familiar with the redlegs, Quantrill, and Bloody Bill Anderson before I read this book, Goodrich breathes life into them, Quantrill benefiting the most. Often one of the most reviled characters in American history, Goodrich shows him as a more complex figure. In a war zone where any vestige of nobility was scarce, Quantrill comes off best, standing by his orders that women would not be harmed. If only the redlegs and Anderson's men had such a strain of character. That isn't to say Quantrill is heroic, just not as demonic as the other participants.

While I was reading this book, I also waded through a history of the Foreign Legion, which was more "academic" (meaning tedious and poorly written). In comparison to that book, this is a classic - even without so harsh a contrast this book is well written, well organized, and well thought out. I would recommend it to anyone as a satisfying reading experience.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome book!, November 10, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865: A Riveting Account of a Bloody Chapter in Civil War History (Paperback)

For many years I had studied the Civil War, especially the
Eastern theater and sometimes the Western theater. This was one
of the first books I read on the Trans-Mississippi, and it was one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read on the entire
topic of the Civil War. It shines a spotlight on little-known areas and personalities of the war and particularly on the murderous and often personal violence in the regions west of the
Mississippi. It offers a great corrective for those who view the
Civil War as a "gentleman's conflict" and a "chivalrous era."
Buy and read this book!

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Civil War guerilla book I've read, November 17, 2000

By 

Cantalopian (Fort Mill, SC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Flag: Guerrilla Warfare on the Western Border, 1861-1865: A Riveting Account of a Bloody Chapter in Civil War History (Paperback)

This book has the ring of truth. The Civil War in Missouri was vicious in the extreme. It brought the worst out in people, especially the Union occupiers. Abolitionists in Kansas, including John Brown, Jim Lane, and Susan B. Anthony's brother began murdering, stealing and burning along the Missouri Border. It is one heck of a story, all the more in being relatively unknown. The Missouri Confederates (The honorable Wm. Quantrill, Wm. Anderson, the Younger Brothers, and the James Gang) actively resisted the Federal occupation. You gotta read about this if you are a student of the American Civil War. Just a fantastic, gripping book. BUY IT! -S