Albert Castel, General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West 1st Ed., Signed

Description

General Sterling Price and the Civil War in the West by Albert Castel is one of the finest biographies of a Confederate General who had a high public profile, but on whom there is little scholarly writing.

While Sterling Price created a long record of service to the Confederacy his primary motivation was relieving his home state of Missouri from what he saw as the yoke of Federal tyranny. His Missouri Confederate troops were intensely loyal to him – They called him “Old Pap” – and whether they were fighting west or east of the Mississippi River they were always among the elite troops of the armies they served.

Price led his Missourians at Wilson’s Creek and Pea Ridge in Arkansas, and at Iuka and Corinth east of the river. He led them at Little Rock, Helena and Jenkins Ferry in Arkansas. His one wish was always to lead his troops north to liberate Missouri, which he did in a Quixotic campaign in late 1864. He failed miserably.

Castel’s biography covers all this ground thoroughly, but more importantly delves into the relationship between this princely planter and the land he thought of as an oppressed kingdom awaiting salvation by his hand. A truly unforgettable Civil War character, vividly described by a talented historian.

Very good; spine sunned, dust jacket. Signed bookplate pasted in.

Castel, Albert. GENERAL STERLING PRICE AND THE CIVIL WAR IN THE WEST. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1968. 1st edition, 300p., frontispiece, illustrations, maps.