Fire in the Cane Field: The Federal Invasion of Louisiana and Texas, January 1861 - January 1863

by Donald S. Frazier

Helen Dupuy, a French-speaking teenager living at the Sleepy Hollow Plantation on Bayou Lafourche, Louisiana, noted with horror the coming invaders. “ The first Yankee gunboats passed Donaldsville May 4 at 11 A.M.,” she wrote in her diary. Her home lay just a few miles from the Mississippi River, and word quickly arrived that Union sailors were confiscating sugar, cotton, and other contraband of war. The realities of her new situation soon became apparent—and “Then began the most awful pillaging.”

Award-winning author Donald S. Frazier returns to the field of Civil War history with keen turn of phrase and enthralling story-telling with the release of Fire in the Cane The Invasion of Louisiana and Texas, January 1861–January 1863 . Beginning with the spasms of secession in the Pelican State, Frazier weaves a stirring tale of bravado, reaction, and war as he describes the consequences of disunion for the hapless citizens of Louisiana. The army and navy campaigns he portrays weave a tale of the Federal Government’s determination to suppress the newborn Confederacy—and nearly succeeding—by putting ever-increasing pressure on its adherents from New Orleans to Galveston. The surprising triumph of Texas troops on their home soil in early 1863 proved to be a decisive reverse to Union ambitions and doomed the region to even bloodier destruction to come.

This bracing new work, ten years in the making, will usher in a chronological string of four books on the Civil War in Louisiana and Texas, as Frazier presents fresh sources on new topics in a series of captivating narratives.

Titles to follow in his innovative Louisiana quadrille include Thunder Across the The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February–May 1863; Blood on the The Campaigns of Tom Green’s Texans, June 1863–February 1864 ; and Death at the The Contest for the Red River and the Collapse of Confederate Louisiana, March 1864–June 1865 .

Genres: Civil War, Nonfiction, History, Military History, American History, American Civil War

250 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Laura Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Normally, I wind up giving three stars to the "Texas" books I review for work. However, the author was simply wonderful. This is not easy to do with history. I understand that. But the author not only took a very regional view of the first two years of the Civil War, but he wrote it with a wry sense of humor that came through as well as just....deftly worded phrases. Very well done. I look forward to the next book in his Louisiana Quadrille.

[James Durney · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the fall of New Orleans, Civil War history moves away from Louisiana & Texas. “Beast” Butler, some issues with occupation and questions about the status of Freemen is all the coverage the area gets. Port Hudson and the Red River Campaign complete the standard history of this area. We have lost a history of small battles, maneuvers, political infighting by small units in a backwater of the war. This Civil War history is not mighty armies lead by great generals fighting major battles. It is companies lead by field grade officers fighting to secure small advantages. It is a few gunboats trying to support a regiment ashore. Small naval battles on the Gulf or in the rivers secure vital advantages by blocking ports or supporting movement. Commanders face a continual problem of more missions than resources. Opportunities are lost due to lack of resources and some missions fail when needed resources are not allocated.
The fall of New Orleans is the start not the end of the story. Donald S. Frazier brings the first two years of the war to life in this vivid well-written book. Covering both sides, without taking sides, the military, political and social questions interact causing a series of problems and opportunities. This reminded me of Viet Nam, where two armies are interacting working with and over a civilian population of shifting loyalties. The last chapter “Two years after secession” is one of the best reviews of the first two years of the war written. While specific to this area, the author captures the position of both sides.
The author is a college history professor. This means that the book is properly footnoted, has good sources and is well researched. In addition, he is an excellent author with very readable and enjoyable style. Maps are plentiful, useful and in the right place. The publisher understood that the area is unfamiliar to the majority and made sure that we have the necessary maps. The illustration, a combination of photographs and prints enhance the text and provide some stunning visuals. This is a handsome book, well made of high quality materials. The history contained inside, the covers, is excellent and to my knowledge unique scholarship.
This is the first of four books on the war in Louisiana and Texas, entitled the Louisiana Quadrille series. Based on this book and the author’s “Blood & Treasure”, they are necessary books in a Civil War Library.

[Miles Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good history of the Civil War in Louisiana and Texas. The war in those states is best known through the history of the Red River Campaign, the largest trans-Mississippi invasion the Federal Army undertook in 1863. This book covers the initial engagements that led to Nathaniel Banks' appointment as commander and the Confederate military's early attempts to push back against the Federal advances in Louisiana and in Galveston Bay.

['Aussie Rick' · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be an easy to read account of the Union campaign against Louisiana and Texas at the start of the Civil War. The story was reasonably well told and the book moved along at a decent pace. It wasn't an in-depth campaign study but offered enough information about the battles and skirmishes to keep you interested. I enjoyed the numerous line drawings and the maps provided enough detail to follow the movements described in the book. I enjoyed this book enough to go and order his previous title; “Blood & Treasure: Confederate Empire in the Southwest” and I intend to also buy the following three books in this series on the Civil War; “Thunder Across the Swamp: The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February–May 1863”; “Blood on the Bayou: The Campaigns of Tom Green’s Texans, June 1863–February 1864”; and “Death at the Landing: The Contest for the Red River and the Collapse of Confederate Louisiana, March 1864–June 1865”.

[CW · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book about the Civil War in Louisiana and Texas between January 1861 and January 1863. Donald S. Frazier takes the reader through an in-depth analysis of the skirmishes, battles, politics, economics, and culture of this region. The Civil War in Texas and Louisiana is usually discussed as a side-note in most books about the Trans-Mississippi Theater, but this book gives you a detailed history of the two states involvement during the war. This book has many new topics and events that I was totally unfamiliar with before reading this book. This is the first of four books in the author's Louisiana quadrille and I can't wait to read the next three books.