The Confederates of Chappell Hill, Texas

Stephen Chicoine's The Confederates of Chappell Hill, Texas examines the changes that Texans experienced during the Civil War and the events that followed through the lives of the citizens from Chappell Hill. Before the war, Chappell Hill thrived because of the Southern cotton trade but the disruption of the Civil War and Reconstruction brought hardships to the town. Through the letters and memoirs of its citizens, Chicoine brings to life the thoughts, actions, and emotions of individuals from this town throughout these trying times. The author previously published several books and articles on military history, including the edited letters of Rufus King Felder, a Confederate soldier and leading citizen of Chappell Hill after the war, in the Southwestern Historical Quarterly.

Men from Chappell Hill served in every theater of the war and in all the famous Texas units including Hood's Texas Brigade, Terry's Texas Rangers, and Sibley's Brigade, to name a few. The men participated in famous battles such as Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Galveston, Chickamauga, Wilderness, and Petersburg. Chicoine devotes the majority of the book to the men's perspective of their particular units and the battles they fought. Included in this section are the effects the war had on the homefront and how civilians supported their soldiers on distant battlefields. The last five chapters examine how the men reacted to coming home after the war, reconstruction, and how they contributed to the reconciliation between North and South through the establishment of veteran organizations. Chicoine concludes the book with the contribution of the Confederates' children and grandchildren to the reconciliation of the country through their actions during the Spanish-American War and World War I.

Chicoine's concept of examining Confederates from a particular town is not unique, but the greatest strength of his book is examining their lives after the war and how they adapted to the changes the war created. His research is impeccable. The author drew from many different sources to examine these Texas soldiers' lives, especially the letters of common soldiers and newspapers from the area. Another positive attribute of the book is the number of photographs incorporated throughout its pages. Pictures of soldiers, families, locations, and buildings within the town bring the story to light and provide a physical connection for the reader. Chicoine organizes the book both topically and chronologically. This style allows him to focus on the numerous groups of Texas soldiers spread across the South while containing a narrative that shows the progressive changes that occurred to the men and the town they called home. The book attempts to examine Confederates from this town, but does not explain why the men from the community joined a wide array of units instead of joining local companies or a particular regiment. Overall, this book contributes to the literature of the Civil War but better serves general readers and students of Texas history.