Why Texans fought in the Civil War
By: Charles David Grear.
Edition: 1st ed.
Series: Sam Rayburn series on rural life -- no. 20; Sam Rayburn series on rural life -- no. 20.
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: College Station
Language: eng
Number of pages: 239
ISBN-13: 9781603441728
Subjects: Soldiers -- Texas -- Attitudes -- History -- 19th century; Soldiers -- Texas -- Psychology -- History -- 19th century; Texas -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865
Description: "In why Texans fought in the Civil War, Charles David Grear provides insights into what motivated Texans to fight for the Confederacy. Mining important primary sources -- including thousands of letters and unpublished journals -- he affords readers the opportunity to hear, often in the combatants' own words, why it was so important to them to engage in tumultuous struggles occurring so far from home. As Grear notes, in the decade prior to the Civil War the population of Texas had tripled. The state was increasingly populated by immigrants from all parts of the South and foreign countries. When the war began, it was not just Texas that many of these soldiers enlisted to protect, but also their native states, where they had family ties"--Dust jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Into the fray : why Texans fought in the Civil War; title: Defense of the Lone Star State : why Texans fought in the Trans-Mississippi; title: Defense of their former homes : why Texans fought east of the Mississippi River; title: Demoralization and desertion : why Texans returned to the Lone Star State during the war; title: Fighting in a new land : why foreign immigrants and minorities in Texas fought.