A Texas Cavalry Officer's Civil War: The Diary and Letters of James C. Bates

by James C. Bates, Richard Lowe (Editor)

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

366 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[E B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gentleman had incredible optimism to the bitter end. He was not optimistic in a naïve way, as he regularly questioned the written victories by other confederate battles. However, even when times were tough, he still thought they were just a step away from victory.

A lot of it is your typical era correspondence, but there was a rather interesting section on the difference between Union and Confederate Rank elections and demotions.

People often question why the American Civil War went on as long as it did and there is book after book of people with such incredible fortitude against the odds.