Customer Reviews

Bloody Valverde: A Civil War Battle on the Rio Grande, February 21, 1862

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Most people, even serious Civil War historians often overlook the fact that the Confederate Armies captured Santa Fe! Or that entire battles were fought that far west! "Bloddy Valverde" is an amazingly detailed account of my favorite battle. This, the biggest battle of the campaign is won of the most interesting of the war! from Graysons comical attempt to used mules as a primitive guided smart bomb to the amount of federal regulars involved, the types of ordnance, a lance charge defeated by a Napoleonic square till the turning point...a dismounted shotgun charge against the federal batteries! This is the single most detailed book of thie battle, breaking down the events to almost every 30 minutes. The research and depth is amazing...many myths and misconceptions of this battle are cleared up. Just when you think you know everything about the American Civil War this comes along!

This is an excellent account of the early campaign in the Rio Grande Valley and the Confederacy's attempt to secure part of the Western Territories. Valverde was the first and largest battle of the campaign and a surprising southern victory allowed Sibley's Army of New Mexico to occupy most of the New Mexico Territory. Taylor makes good use of maps to discribe the action as units arrive on the field piecemeal and are thrown into the fight. Taylor includes diagrams of unit organizations and has a large appendix analyzing unit strenghts and losses and also discusses whether this Southern victory was really a strategic defeat. There are extensive notes at the end where Taylor discusses discrepencies in original accounts. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil War in the Western Territories.

This was the first book I bought on the American Civil War in the Southwest United States. I had the fortune of being in Albuquerque, NM when it was released, and stumbled upon his book signing at a Borders Books.

It is not intended to be ideal for an overview of the New Mexico Campaign, rather to cover this battle which was not well covered previously. Honestly the book was good enough to get me hooked on finding out more about the campaign.

One of the best parts about the book is that it includes a number of photos, sketches, and so forth that take you step by step thru the battle. It also includes tables of organization and equipment noting the Units involved, which is perfect for a Wargamer. As a Civil War Reenactor I do wish that more information had been provided on their actual equipment, but there are other books for that.

One of the best descriptions of a battle and field of battle I have read.