The Seventh Star of the Confederacy
On Feb. 1, 1861, Texas officially voted to secede from the Union and became the seventh state to enter the Confederacy. This vast area of largely frontier land faced many challenges making Texas’ contribution to the Civil War unique in many ways. Although many books have already been written on Texas’ involvement in the Civil War, most of them focus on the military challenges encountered. In addition, most of them were written prior to 1991, which is more that 18 years ago. Since that time new information has been learned that needs to be shared. Dr. Kenneth W. Howell attempts to correct these shortfalls in his latest book, The Seventh Star of the Confederacy. Howell, an Assistant Professor at Prairie View A&M, provides us with a collection of edited essays that focus on four major aspects of Texas’ involvement in the Civil War. The first section provides a historical overview of Texas. The two articles in this part provide good information. Collectively, they describe in detail part of the history that makes this republic, then state, then member of the Confederacy different from other Confederate states. The second part describes some of the political issues of a state that had only been in the union since 1845. The two articles comprising this section deal with how Texans handled the issues generally regarded as causing the Civil War. The second article deals specifically with how Texas reacted to limiting the spread of slavery. The Knights of the Golden Circle in Texas helped to bring about secession in order to protect their expansionist goals and slave property from a strong abolitionist threat they thought lay ahead. The articles contained in section three describe military- related actions involving Texas or Texas-based units. The eight essays in this section provide solid information regarding the unique coastal and frontier defenses that characterized battles in Texas. They cover a wide range of topics from Indian relations to a massacre of German citizens on the Nueces River. Three entries are especially noteworthy for their contributions. These include discussions regarding the sister ports of Galveston and Indianola and the largest Confederate prisoner-of-war camp in the Trans-Mississippi, Camp Ford. Howell’s collection provides a wide array of information on Texas during the war. It has excellent illustrations and comprehensive maps which enhance the articles. The essays’ lengths allow a reader to pick up and read one at a time. Each one can stand alone, even though they are grouped by the four themes. Those categories create a logical sequence that effectively tells the story of Texas’ involvement in the Civil War, making this book an excellent reference tool. The only potential drawback this reviewer found is the price. The book is geared more toward those doing specific research projects on Texas’ involvement in the Civil War and not a general reader. Researchers would be willing to pay a higher price for the more detailed analysis that could be referred to over time. However, at $34.95 the book may be out of the general readers’ price range. Reviewer: Richard J. Blumberg has a master’s degree with honors in Civil War studies. He is past president of the Houston Civil War Round Table and is a speaker for that group and the Society of Women in the Civil War. He also reviews books for the Blue and Gray Education Society.
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Illustrated, preface, endnotes, acknowledgements, List of Contributors, index, 348 pp., 2009. University of North Texas Press, 1155 Union Circle #311336, Denton, TX 76203-5017, $34.95 plus shipping.