Standing Firmly by the Flag: Nebraska Territory and the Civil War, 1861–1867 by James E. Potter (review)

James E. Potter gives readers a well-written and superbly researched glimpse into what life was like for settlers in the Nebraska Territory during the war, and what contributions Nebraska soldiers made to the war effort. Potter has a complex and nuanced argument. First, he argues that Nebraska made a remarkable contribution to the Union war effort, furnishing more than three thousand soldiers from a pool of barely nine thousand men of military age in 1860. Nebraskan troops are not as famous as those from other states, yet they still made brave contributions to the war effort. Nebraska soldiers fought under Ulysses S. Grant at Fort Donelson and Shiloh, quarreled with guerrillas in Missouri and Arkansas, and chased Native Americans in the Nebraska and Dakota territories, all the while accruing commanders’ praises. Second, Potter contends that the war left an indelible imprint on the state. It disrupted the territorial economy, delayed statehood, brought conflict with Native Americans, deferred the anticipated benefits of the 1862 Pacific Railroad and Homestead Acts, and reshaped territorial politics for many years to come.

Potter organizes his book into seven chapters, examining the years 1861–67 in sequential order. In each chapter he follows the fortunes of the Nebraska soldiers and the effect the conflict had on the territory. In the summer of 1861, recruiters raised a volunteer regiment of infantry and several companies of cavalry, called the Curtis Horse, after Gen. Samuel R. Curtis. Nebraska soldiers marched off to war in eager anticipation of meeting the enemy, but like most troops, their excitement was tempered by disease and desertions. In February 1862, the unit, attached to Gen. Lew Wallace’s division, joined Grant’s assault against Forts Henry and Donelson. At Fort Donelson, the regiment met the Confederates at Wynn’s Ferry Road, where it exceeded its commanders’ expectations. It also fought on the second day of Shiloh, and again, it fought well. Following Fort Donelson and Shiloh, the 1st Nebraska was confined to skirmishes with Rebel guerrilla forces in Missouri and Arkansas. Throughout the war, Nebraska troops always kept an eye west on the territory, worrying about guerrilla activity and threats from Native Americans.

Back home in Nebraska, wartime shortages and guerilla activity disrupted the territorial economy. Partisan unrest also plagued the southeastern counties, and Nebraskans were increasingly worried about Native American threats within and outside the territory. The Sioux rebelled in Dakota Territory, and Nebraskans worried the conflict would spread. The territorial economy soon recovered, however, when a gold discovery in the Rocky Mountains sent a stream of prospectors through the territory, where they outfitted at towns such as Nebraska City and Omaha on their way to the mines. During the war, Nebraska was a unique polyglot space, supporting poor yeoman farmers and traders, as well as a multicultural population of displaced Native Americans and a strong German community in Grand Island. War refugees moved through the territory, as did deserters and people fleeing the draft. Throughout the war, the territory saw huge migrations, east and west.

The year 1864 was a pivotal one: territorial politics became poisonously divisive. Democrats prevented the territory from becoming a state and also threw in their lot with McClellan’s presidential campaign for which they paid a dear price. Republicans accused Democrats of disloyalty, and many voters agreed. Following 1864, Republicans dominated territorial politics for many years. Moreover, a massive Indian rebellion broke out in August, halting commerce and access to the West and forced the Union to redirect troops to protect the territory, especially the stagecoach lines that connected it to the West.

Potter’s treatment of Nebraska and its people is impressively researched and written. He sheds light on the people of Nebraska, but he is not uncritical. Throughout the book, he highlights the depredations Nebraskans committed against Native Americans in the territory. The...