The Division: Defending Little Rock, August 25th-September 10th, 1863 - Paperback

by Stephanie Gail Burford (Author), Timothy Wayne Burford (Author)

IN THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER, in the midst of civil war, a broken band of black-sheep Rebels were all that stood between Little Rock and Northern occupation. Cut off from the Confederacy and splintered by inner conflict, these citizen-soldiers faced down an impending horde of first-rate Federal cavalry - in a long-forgotten but pivotal campaign that helped forge the evolution of a nation. THE DIVISION is the captivating and timely true story of a defining moment in American history, with documentary and archaeological evidence providing historical accuracy often measured in yards and minutes, while battle maps provide an overview to the action. The work includes a detailed analysis of cavalry, infantry and artillery tactics as well as the over-all strategy employed in the unique terrain of the Trans-Mississippi West. Espionage and spies, special operations and unconventional guerrilla warfare efforts by both sides, as well as by some "in the middle," are explored. THE DIVISION delivers a highly detailed and moving narrative of the sixteen days leading to the capture of Little Rock, Arkansas, by Federal forces in 1863, reconstructed from original hand-written battlefield reports, letters, biographies and memoirs, and heavily supported by archival data supplied through hundreds of footnotes. THE DIVISION also contains an in-depth look at weapons and weaponry including cannon, rifles, muskets, shotguns, handguns, swords, as well as engineering and fortification techniques utilized during the Little Rock Campaign. From the brutality of war and the ravages of disease to the dearth of proper medicines and the horrors of combat surgery in the mid-19th Century, the disparate experiences of soldiers from the two armies and civilians alike are displayed in haunting imagery. THE DIVISION is steeped in anecdotal glimpses of everyday life in Civil War Arkansas, including foods, fashions, liquor, sex and society, while providing a stark and honest - and at times humorous - look at the period. The perspectives of contemporary onlookers and participants on the subjects of slavery, abolition, secession, State's Rights, the Emancipation and Reconstruction in Arkansas and Missouri - as well as the Old South as a whole - are presented. From heroes and heroines to bandits and traitors to preachers and prostitutes, these are the voices of those who stood behind the battle flags, and why they did so. THE DIVISION provides a fresh historical adventure for history hounds, Civil War buffs and arm-chair generals alike on the unsung battlefields of Brownsville, Reed's Bridge (present day Jacksonville), Shallow Ford, Ashley's Mill and Fourche Bayou, with many side-raids and covert operations exposed. The causes and consequences of conflict between Confederate Generals Lucius Marsh Walker and John Sappington Marmaduke - and the resulting duel that would decide not only their own fates but the fate of their commands, the state and the Confederacy itself - are explored, with many details revealed for the first time in history. A RIVETING TALE of travails and triumphs that has been too long forgotten, THE DIVISION is a story whose time has come. Winner of the 2000 S. A. Cunningham Literary Award for Arkansas Civil War Military History. By the authors of HEARTLAND: The History of Little Rock Air Force Base and ISLANDS of STEEL: The Viability of the Supercarrier in the 21st Century and producers of the documentary YouTube channel THIS IS WAR. Keynote Speakers, Civil War Round Table, MacArthur Military Museum (formerly the Little Rock Arsenal), Little Rock, Arkansas, 1999.