War Along the Bayous: The 1864 Red River Campaign in Louisiana (review)

172CIVIL WAR HISTORY Keenan's study is memorable in several respects. First of all, his work indeed fills a void in the sense that it is comprehensive and detailed. In addition, the author should be commended for the fine prose that transforms what could have been a rather dull recitation of facts into a compelling narrative. The book is well-illustrated with photographs of the major participants and maps detailing the scene of action. Wilson 's Cavalry Corps is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of cavalry operations in the western theater and belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in the mounted army during the Civil War. David Dixon Slippery Rock University War Along the Bayous: The 1864 Red River Campaign in Louisiana. By William Riley Brooksher. (Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's, 1998. Pp. xiii, 287. $27.50.) William Riley Brooksher has written one of the few monographs about the Red River campaign since the publication of Ludwell Johnson's Red River Campaign : Politics and Cotton in the Civil War in 1958 [Ed. note: The Kent State University Press reprinted Ludwell Johnson's book in 1993] The retired Air Force general states in his preface that "it was not my purpose to analyze and unravel the web of politics, diplomacy, personal machinations, and economics that hovered over the campaign; nor to do a scholarly analysis of its military aspects. Instead, my aim has been to simply tell the story of the soldiers and sailors ... on a mission members of the attacking forceand their commanders never really understood—or believed in" (xii). The book jacket makes a more extravagant claim by stating "His [Brooksher's] latest contribution fills a significant gap in the Civil War literature." In spite of his statement that he will not analyze the economic and political background of the campaign, Brooksher does devote two chapters to its complicated underpinnings. He explains how Northern concern about French involvement in Mexico, a desire to obtain cotton for Northern textile mills, a determination to reconstruct Louisiana, and a wish to defeat the trans-Mississippi Confederates all converged to create this ill-fated campaign. The author also devotes a chapter to the Union military efforts in the fall of 1863. The remainder of the book describes the Union army and navy movements up the Red River, the battles at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, and the subsequent retreat and resulting skirmishes. Brooksher plans to cover the Arkansas phase of the campaign in a future monograph. The book contains nine maps that complement the story of the campaign. Six of these maps are reprinted from the earlier Ludwell Johnson volume. Brooksher utilized mostly published primary sources, such as the Official Records and regimental histories , in writing his book. Readers will enjoy Brooksher's often lively writing style, but comparisons to Ludwell Johnson's work will be inevitable. Brooksher offers harsher criticisms BOOK REVIEWS173 of the Union decision to conduct the campaign and the way the campaign was fought; otherwise his conclusions are similar to Johnson's. Johnson offers a fuller recounting of the background of the campaign. Surprisingly, the military events are covered at a similar level of detail as in the Johnson book, in spite of Brooksher's military background. Brooksher, of course, does use more recently published articles and theses about the campaign. Brooksher's book is a survey for readers with an interest in the Red River campaign. The work is written in a lively fashion and includes a number of quotes from participants. Readers' though, should be aware that no new or startling conclusions have been reached—the basic outline is the same as the Johnson book. In spite of the book jacket's claim, this monograph does not fill a gap. M. Jane Johansson Pryor, Oklahoma North Carolina Yeoman. The Diary ofBasilArmstrong Thomasson, 1853-1862. Edited by Paul D. Escott. (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996. Pp. lxvi, 355. $50.00.) Basil Armstrong Thomasson (1829-1862), called Strong by his family, was a small farmer and part-time schoolteacher in the Piedmont North Carolina counties of Yadkin and Iredell. A seemingly otherwise unremarkable exemplar of the antebellum South's yeomanry, Thomasson left a remarkable diary covering the years...