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A Texas Cavalry Officer's Civil War: The Diary and Letters of James C. Bates
A Texas Cavalry Officer's Civil War The Diary and Letters of James C Bates Author:James C. Bates, Richard G. Lowe A volunteer officer with the 9th Texas Cavalry Regiment from 1861 to 1865, James Campbell Bates saw some of the most important and dramatic clashes in the Civil Wars western and trans-Mississippi theaters. Bates rode thousands of miles, fighting in the Indian Territory; at Elkhorn Tavern in Arkansas; at Corinth, Holly Springs, and Jackson,... more » Mississippi; at Thompsons Station, Tennessee; and at the crossing of the Etowah River during Shermans Atlanta campaign. In a detailed diary and dozens of long letters to his family, he recorded his impressions, confirming the image of the Texas cavalrymen as a hard-riding bunchlong on aggression and short on discipline. Batess writings, which remain in the possession of his descendants, treat scholars to a documentary treasure trove and all readers to an enthralling, first-person dose of American history.« less