Donald Frazier's Louisiana Quadrille

  Frazier, Donald. Fire in the Cane Field: The Federal Invasion of Louisiana and Texas, January 1861-January 1863. State House Press, 2009.

-        Thunder Across the Swamp: The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February 1863-May 1863. State House Press, 2011.
-          Blood on the Bayou: Vicksburg, Port Hudson, and the Trans-Mississippi. State House Press, 2015.
-          Tempest over Texas: The Fall and Winter Campaigns of 1863-1864. State House Press, 2020.

 

Those looking for an extensive history of Civil War Louisiana might be interested to know that there is a highly readable four-volume series on the subject. Donald Frazier’s Louisiana Quadrille (he actually chose to expand it to five books so it’s really a Pendadrille) covers the Trans-Mississippi theatre in East Texas and Louisiana from the secession crisis to right before the more widely known and infamous Red River Campaign of spring 1864. Frazier’s work here comes out of Blood & Treasure, the story of the Sibley Brigade’s attempt to conquer the Far West. Looking further into this unit’s history, he came upon a series of little known battles. As a native Texan, Frazier was inspired to dig deeper. He has brought to light a heavily overlooked part of the Civil War. Frazier covers a wide area of the war, but shows a particular interest in the fields and swamps of western Louisiana.

Taken together the books look like heavy reading (Thunder in the Swamp runs well over 500 pages). However the text is not all that thick and there are plenty of illustrations and maps. The latter shows the author’s exhaustive searches for visual sources to enhance his narrative. The one main gripe has nothing to do with Frazier’s investigation and presentation of information. He displays a surprising amount of grammatical errors, moreso in his first volume. I myself am guilty of having typos and errors in my blog posts (even after reading through what I wrote). Still it’s a bit surprising for a professionally published book. Perhaps he attempted to edit the whole thing himself. This is forgivable, however, in light of the value of his research. He really digs into primary sources and many of the figures, especially the soldiers of the rank-and-file, come alive with extensive quotes and references from their letters and journals.

The Battle of Honey Springs (July 17, 1863)

Honey Springs is the third significant battle of the 1^st Kansas Colored Regiment. It was a direct and much larger follow-up to the Battle at Cabin Creek. In fact it has gone down in history as the largest battle in Indian Territory with at least 6,000 participants. Some have also called it the “Gettysburg of Indian Territory.” Not only did it take place shortly after that famed battle, it effectively ended any Confederate dominance in the region, save for a few major raids in the future. Finally the battle has been noted for its ethnic diversity. In addition to the black troops in the 1^st Kansas both sides sported various Indian units. It was truly a polyglot fight in which whites fought for the future of the American vision, blacks fought for freedom and equality, and Indians fought for self-determination.

Quick Action Required

The 1^st Kansas’ entry into Indian Territory at the Battle of Cabin Creek gave them ample opportunities to prove themselves in further battle. However, Indian Territory was rarely covered in the wider national press, so their contributions would go unnoticed by most Northerners. Also, despite having fought in two sizeable engagements since their inception, they still drew the racial prejudice of their fellow white soldiers. Captain Nicholas Earle of Company F remembered that the 2^nd Colorado Infantry, made up of rough-hewn white westerners, “treated us with contempt.”[1]

James G. Blunt

Major General James Blunt, recently arrived in Indian Territory, began his campaign with a halved department. Major General John M. Schofield, his superior, placed his eastern half along the Missouri border under General Thomas Ewing. Blunt and his Kansan political ally James Lane were angry and saw the need to boost the former’s standing with a quick victory. As luck would have it, military events necessitated speedy action. William Phillips’ scouts (from his Union Indian Brigade) saw that Confederate General William Cabell, having missed his rendezvous with Brigadier General Douglas Cooper for the Battle of Cabin Creek, was still approaching with 3,000 troops from Arkansas. Cherokee women came to Fort Gibson on ponies and passed on further observations about the movements and size of the Arkansan force.[2]