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xi Acknowledgments I owe a great debt to many people who have helped with the completion of this work. First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to my contributors. Each worked diligently to make all deadlines and was patient with me as I worked through the editing and publishing process, even during unexpected delays. This study would not have been possible without their tireless efforts. On a more personal note, I owe Dr. James M. Smallwood a special debt of gratitude. Over the years, he has been my biggest supporter, and has listened for more hours than I can count to my ideas about Reconstruction Texas, sometimes agreeing with me and other times gently moving me back on the correct path when my ideas strayed too far from what facts would support. He continues to serve as a constant inspiration , and as an ideal model for what a scholar should be. In many ways, he has been more a father to me than a mentor. For all that he has done for me, I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart. Also, I would like to thank many of my closest professional and personal friends (members of the Victoria Secrets, or as I like to affectionately refer to them, the Texas History Mafia) who have continued to encourage me to complete this project. Some of them were even gracious enough to make a contribution to this volume. Of this group, I am especially grateful to Charles and Pat Spurlin, Mary Jo O’Rear, Bruce Glasrud, Cary Wintz, Doug Kubicek, Carroll Scogin-Brincefield, Charles Grear, Henry and Linda Wolf, George Cooper, Donaly Brice, Harold Weiss, and Chuck and Pat Parsons. Thank you all for listening to my ideas on the War of Reconstruction. I also owe a debt of gratitude to my colleagues at Prairie View A&M University, especially Walle Engedayehu, Michael Nojeim, Ron Goodwin, James Jones, and Dean Danny Kelley. They are always supportive of my research endeavors, and on many occasions have expressed interest in my publications. They have been and remain a daily source of inspiration. Furthermore, I would like to thank my students at Prairie View A&M University . Their enthusiasm for history and willingness to listen to my ideas on Reconstruction in various courses over the years have helped to sustain my research efforts and have aided me in developing my own thoughts on the Reconstruction era. As is often the case, I believe that I learned as much from their questions as they did from my lectures. Also, I greatly appreciate the staff and editors at University of North Texas Press, especially Ron Chrisman. Ron’s belief in this project and his xii Kenneth W. Howell professionalism gave me solace during the publication process. In addition , I want to thank Patrick Williams who read every word of the manuscript and offered invaluable insights for its improvement, especially the introduction. Patrick’s suggestions improved this work. Finally, I want to thank my copy editor Karen DeVinney for improving the overall readability of the original manuscript. Despite all the professional assistance that I received while editing this work, I accept full responsibility for all errors of fact, faulty interpretations, and mistaken conclusions. Finally, I want to express my gratitude to my family for all their support and encouragement. They never complained about the many hours that I spent working on this project, which would not have been possible without them by my side. K.W.H. ...

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