Spartan Band: Burnett's 13th Texas Cavalry in the Civil War (War and the Southwest)
Thomas Reid | 2005-02-17 00:00:00 | University of North Texas Press | 256 | Civil War
In Spartan Band (coined from a chaplain's eulogistic poem) author Thomas Reid traces the Civil War history of the 13th Texas Cavalry, a unit drawn from eleven counties in East Texas. The cavalry regiment organized in the spring of 1862 but was ordered to dismount once in Arkansas. The regiment gradually evolved into a tough, well-trained unit during action at Lake Providence, Fort De Russy, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry, as part of Maj. Gen. John G. Walker's Texas division in the Trans-Mississippi Department. "The hard-marching, hard-fighting soldiers of the 13th Texas Cavalry helped make Walker's Greyhound Division famous, and their story comes to life through Thomas Reid's exhaustive research and entertaining writing style. This book should serve as a model for Civil War regimental histories."-Terry L. Jones, author of Lee's Tigers "A splendidly crafted account . . . . Regimental histories in the Trans-Mississippi theatre are rare, and thoroughly researched well-written efforts are rarer still. This volume is among the best."-Civil War Book Review "Reid has written the definitive history of the 13th Texas Cavalry. . . . More than 100 individuals, Reid tells us in the preface, furnished him with diaries, letters, photos and accounts of family traditions. The upshot is a history of the 13th Texas Cavalry that might have been written by one of the veterans of the regiment."-Civil War News "The author effectively retells the battlefield exploits of the unit, as well as shows how social, political, and economic issues affected the regiment."-Southwestern Historical Quarterly Number Nine: War and the Southwest Series THOMAS REID retired from teaching history at Lamar University, where he received his Master of Arts degree. Formerly an employee of the Department of the Army, he served six years on active duty and sixteen in the Army Reserve. He lives in Woodville, Texas.
Reviews
Spartan Band: Burnett's 13th Texas Cavalry In The Civil War by Thomas Reid (History Instructor at Lamar University) is the definitive study of the 13th Texas Cavalry Regiment as it operated during the American Civil War. The result of Reid's meticulous research (letters, diaries, oral histories gleaned from more than one hundred descendants of the soldiers) and positive flair for reader-engaging writing, showcases a Confederate unit drawn from eleven counties in East Texas when it was organized in the spring of 1862 by two Texas Senators -- John H. Burnett and Anderson F. Crawford. Although a calvary unit, the 13th was ordered to dismount after crossing the Red River into Arkansas and fought as infantry until the end of the war, seeing action at Lake Providence, Fort De Russy, Manfield, Pleasant Hill, and Jenkins' Ferry. Disbanded in Hempstead, Texas, in May 1865, the unit was held in high regard and service it in paved the way for several of its troops to secure favor in business and political office. No dedicated Civil War Studies collection can be considered complete without the inclusion of Thomas Reid's Spartan Band!
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