Little to Eat and Thin Mud to Drink

by Joiner, Gary D.

• ISBN13: 9781572335714
• ISBN10: 1572335718
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-05-10
• Publisher: Univ of Tennessee Pr

Summary

Little to Eat and Thin Mud to Drink does more than just document the history of the Trans-Mississippi conflict of the Civil War. It goes much deeper, offering a profound, extended look into the innermost thoughts of the soldiers and civilians who experienced the events that took place in Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas. Gleaning from a rich body of rare journals, diaries, and letters, this groundbreaking book demonstrates the significant impact that military operations in this region had on the local population in the years between 1863 and 1865. Readers will be introduced to the many different individuals who were touched by the campaign, both Confederate and Union. Ably edited by Joiner, a leading expert on the Trans-Mississippi conflict, and others, some of these manuscripts are witty, others somber, some written by Harvard- and Yale-educated aristocrats, others by barely literate farmers. All profoundly reflect their feelings regarding the extraordinary circumstances and events they witnessed. In Little to Eat and Thin Mud to Drink, readers will have access to the diary of James A. Jarratt, a Confederate sergeant whose cogent narratives dispute commonly held views of the Battle of Mansfield. Representing a much different point of view is the diary of Private Julius Knapp, whose lengthy journal sheds light on the life of a Northern soldier fighting in the ill-fated Union march through Louisiana in 1864. A rare glimpse into the diary of a Southern woman is offered through the fascinating and melancholy musings of plantation belle Sidney Harding. Readers will also encounter the private letters of a French prince turned Confederate officer; of Elizabeth Jane Samford Fullilove, theangstridden wife of a Confederate soldier; and many others. These first-person narratives vividly bring to life the individuals who lived through this important, but often neglected, period in Civil War history. Little to Eat and Thin Mud to Drink will engross anyone interested in exploring the human side of the Civil War.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xiii
General Editor's Note	p. xv
Introduction	p. xvii
James A. Jarratt and the Consolidated Crescent Regiment in the Red River Campaign of 1864	p. 1
A Vermont Soldier's Experience at the Battle of Mansfield	p. 47
Lieutenant Edward Cunningham: A Kirby Smith Loyalist Complains about Richard Taylor	p. 65
Private Julius Knapp, U.S.A.: A Union Soldier's Point of View	p. 97
Confederate Letters	p. 123
Union Letters	p. 171
Miss Sidney Harding: A Daughter of Privilege Flees Northward	p. 205
Joseph Pitty Couthouy: The Death of a Sailor-Scientist	p. 219
J. E. Hewitt: Commemorating Mansfield	p. 231
The Battle of Mansfield Song	p. 259
Orders of Battle for the Red River Campaign	p. 265
Mississippi Squadron Vessels	p. 281
Red River Campaign Time Line	p. 285
Julius L. Knapp Diary, January and February 1864	p. 297
Sidney Harding Diary Entries before March 1864 and after the Campaign	p. 309
Bibliography	p. 321
Contributors	p. 333
Index	p. 337
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