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by John Waugh (Author)
General Maxey, dignified, articulate, and confident, arrives in Indian Territory in 1863 to assume command of a diverse and motley army of Indians. The troops are in disarray; they are suspicious of tribal alliances, weakened from malnutrition, their crops have been pillaged, and they are discouraged by a series of battlefield setbacks at the hands of the Union Army invading from Kansas. Maxey calls upon all of his leadership and administrative skills and his insight into Indian culture to win the confidence and loyalty of these soldiers. Desperately he fights to secure badly needed munitions and provisions from the Confederate bureaucracy, which is focused on the plight of its eastern armies. All the while he struggles with his own field commander, the able and ambitious Douglas Cooper, friend of Jefferson Davis, who is eager to supplant him. Yet, Maxey perseveres and succeeds in molding this "army without infantry" into an effective fighting force that plays an important role in the Red River and Arkansas Campaigns and ultimately helps prevent a Union invasion of north Texas. A little known story, dramatically told by a distinguished author.
Author Biography
JOHN C. WAUGH is no stranger to readers of history. His two books, The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox and Reelecting Lincoln: The Battle for the 1864 Presidency, have received numerous awards and much critical acclaim. Waugh, a distinguished journalist and editor, has an impressive list of publications to his credit. Waugh retired to Arlington, Texas, after a long and noteworthy career as bureau chief and staff correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, American Heritage, and Civil War Times Illustrated. He is also the author of 20 Good Reasons to Study the Civil War and Sam Bell Maxey and the Confederate Indians, other McWhiney Foundation Press titles.
