A volunteer officer with the 9th Texas Cavalry Regiment from 1861 to 1865, James Campbell Bates saw some of the most important and dramatic clashes in the Civil War's western and trans-Mississippi theaters. Bates rode thousands of miles, fighting in the Indian Territory; at Elkhorn Tavern in Arkansas; at Corinth, Holly Springs, and Jackson, Mississippi; at Thompson's Station, Tennessee; and at the crossing of the Etowah River during Sherman's Atlanta campaign. In a detailed diary and dozens of long letters to his family, he recorded his impressions, confirming the image of the Texas cavalrymen as a hard-riding bunch -- long on aggression and short on discipline. Bates's writings, which remain in the possession of his descendants, treat scholars to a documentary treasure trove and all readers to an enthralling, first-person dose of American history.

Annotation A comprehensive study of the East Texas unit that served as a part of Walker's Texas division in the Trans-Mississippi Department.

“The itensity of the hard fought Red River campaign comes alive in McGowen’s well-turned words. Based upon meticulous research in Confederate Army records, letters, diaries, published memoirs, and relevant secondary materials, Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke sheds valuable light on a long-neglected aspect of the Civil War in the West, and it will be a welcome addition to the shelves of scholars and other Civil War enthusiasts.”—Journal of Southern History “Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke is a fascinating history of one of the Civil War’s most interesting and colorful regiments.”—Library Booknotes “Readers will find McGowen’s book engrossing and thought-provoking, a stimulating study of large questions in microcosm.”—Southwestern Historical Quarterly “McGowen’s style is clear . . . a fine book.”—The Civil War News

Much of the Civil War west of the Mississippi was a war of waiting for action, of foraging already stripped land for an army that supposedly could provision itself, and of disease in camp, while trying to hold out against Union pressure. There were none of the major engagements that characterized the conflict farther east. Instead, small units of Confederate cavalry and infantry skirmished with Federal forces in Arkansas, Missouri, and Louisiana, trying to hold the western Confederacy together. The many units of Texans who joined this fight had a second objective—to keep the enemy out of their home state by placing themselves “between the enemy and Texas.” Historian Anne J. Bailey studies one Texas unit, Parsons's Cavalry Brigade, to show how the war west of the Mississippi was fought. Historian Norman D. Brown calls this “the definitive study of Parsons's Cavalry Brigade; the story will not need to be told again.” Exhaustively researched and written with literary grace, Between the Enemy and Texas is a “must” book for anyone interested in the role of mounted troops in the Trans-Mississippi Department.

Examines the contributions of the veteran Texas Rangers to the Civil War as "horse soldiers," and highlights their confrontations, in which they were often outnumbered but frequently managed to turn the tide of battle.

In Why Texans Fought in the Civil War, Charles David Grear provides insights into what motivated Texans to fight for the Confederacy. Mining important primary sources—including thousands of letters and unpublished journals—he affords readers the opportunity to hear, often in the combatants’ own words, why it was so important to them to engage in tumultuous struggles occurring so far from home. As Grear notes, in the decade prior to the Civil War the population of Texas had tripled. The state was increasingly populated by immigrants from all parts of the South and foreign countries. When the war began, it was not just Texas that many of these soldiers enlisted to protect, but also their native states, where they had family ties.

This volume is concerned only with the history of the original 2nd U.S. Cavalry Regiment authorized in March, 1855, and its assignment in Texas during the years 1855-1861. -- Preface.