With Porter in North Missouri: A Chapter in the History of the War Between the States [Paperback]

Joseph A. Mudd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1999

The history of a Confederate recruiting raid behind Union lines in northeast Missouri during the summer of 1862.

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About the Author

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Joseph Aloysius Mudd (1841-1916) was a young medical student from Millwood, Lincoln County, Missouri, living in St. Louis. On June 15, 1861, he joined the Missouri State Guard regiment of John Q. Burbridge, and fought at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in southwest Missouri (August 10, 1861). At the expiration of his term of service, Mudd returned home to his studies. However, a peaceful life in Yankee-occupied Missouri was not possible for the pro-Southern young man. He sought out and joined a new Confederate regiment being recruited clandestinely by Colonel Joseph Porter. Mudd rode with Porter and fought in several small, local battles, after one of which (Moore's Mill, July 28, 1862), he decided to leave the regiment. He departed Missouri for his uncle's home in Bryantown, Maryland, finished his medical studies at the University of Maryland, and rejoined the Confederate service as an assistant surgeon at Howard's Grove Hospital near! Richmond, Virginia, where he served until the end of the war.

Product Details

• Paperback: 504 pages
• Publisher: Pr of the Camp Pope Bookshop (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 192991900X
• ISBN-13: 978-1929919000
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,493,221 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Biased History, December 11, 2009

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P. J. Sullivan (Northern California USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: With Porter in North Missouri: A Chapter in the History of the War Between the States (Paperback)

This book is biased in favor of the rebel cause, but does quote some Yankee sources. The author joined the rebels at Millwood in Lincoln County, Missouri, in 1862, and served with them for a few months.

The first chapter gives an inside view of a rebel camp near Olney, Missouri. They scouted that area, then moved to a camp east of Middletown. There were occasional clashes with federal troops. The rebels had secret passwords and trusted guides who led them through the various districts.

He argues that rebels were better fighters than Yankees because they had "the moral high ground." He complains that Porter's men had been much maligned in the Yankee press. He tells of a Yankee taken prisoner by Porter's men who was treated so well that he was reluctant to be paroled!

He implies that slavery was not such a bad thing. Writing in the twentieth century, he says on page 11: "The majority of the slaveholders of Missouri were opposed to slavery, but they contended that it was a matter for their own settlement and they deeply resented outside interference. They would settle it in their own way and at their own time." Yeah, sure they would!

He describes Porter's moves around Northern Missouri and the strategies behind them--to divert Union troops from the Missouri River and from where the heavy fighting was going on, and to recruit Confederate sympathizers and get them safely across the Missouri River to the South.

An apology for the Confederate cause. Of interest to a small niche audience. Some limited historical value.