Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series) [Paperback]

John C. Waugh (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series

General Maxey, dignified, articulate, and confident, arrives in Indian Territory in 1863 to assume command of a diverse and motley army of Indians. The troops are in disarray; they are suspicious of tribal alliances, weakened from malnutrition, their crops have been pillaged, and they are discouraged by a series of battlefield setbacks at the hands of the Union Army invading from Kansas. Maxey calls upon all of his leadership and administrative skills and his insight into Indian culture to win the confidence and loyalty of these soldiers. Desperately he fights to secure badly needed munitions and provisions from the Confederate bureaucracy, which is focused on the plight of its eastern armies. All the while he struggles with his own field commander, the able and ambitious Douglas Cooper, friend of Jefferson Davis, who is eager to supplant him. Yet, Maxey perseveres and succeeds in molding this "army without infantry" into an effective fighting force that plays an important role in the Red River and Arkansas Campaigns and ultimately helps prevent a Union invasion of north Texas. A little known story, dramatically told by a distinguished author.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"an excellent series [that] should be in every Texas school!" -- Empire Books

About the Author

JOHN C. WAUGH is no stranger to readers of history. His two books, The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox and Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency, have received numerous awards and much critical acclaim. Waugh, a distinguished journalist and editor, has an impressive list of publications to his credit. Waugh retired to Arlington, Texas, after a long and noteworthy career as bureau chief and staff correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, American Heritage, and Civil War Times Illustrated. He is also the author of 20 Good Reasons to Study the Civil War and Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians, other McWhiney Foundation Press titles.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: State House Press (January 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886661030
• ISBN-13: 978-1886661035
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,462,640 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Forgotten Western Theater: An Intriguing Story, May 21, 2004

By 

Dr. Victor S. Alpher (Austin, Texas, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series) (Paperback)

Having the good fortune of hearing John C. Waugh at the Austin Civil War Roundtable, I discovered this series "Civil War Campaigns and Commanders." They tend to be rather short, an evening's read...on less frequently treated topics that are quite intriguing. This volume tells the history of battles and participants in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the War of Northern Aggression, with an emphasis on the participation of the "civilized" Indian tribes, mostly located in Oklahoma (Indian Territory), their commanders, and the passing through western commands of many "failures" in eastern theatres of the war.

This book includes brief biographies (about 1.5 to two pages) of many interesting officers (Stand Watie, Sam Bell Maxey, Albert Pike, Douglas H. Cooper)--many who were born early in the 1800s, some West Point graduates prior to the beknighted Class of 1846 (which included Thomas J. Jackson), some of whom lived until late in the 19th century and saw America go from the ascendancy of the cotton gin to the Industrial Age!

With great accompanying photos, clear maps, and great storytelling, this book will leave you wanting to learn more about this rather neglected region of the war, but one no less important in many regards for the defining of the nation's future than the more well-known battlefields of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. Highly recommended!!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians, January 29, 2002

By 

Diane M. Nott "gerbilgal" (Elyria, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series) (Paperback)

A side of the civil war in the west that you don't hear about. It is nice to read about the Confederat side in the west. The confederates did treat the indians lots better than the Union side. An excellent story.