Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail
Runner-up, 2019 Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Book Award, sponsored by the Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association (TOMFRA)

Most general histories of the Civil War pay scant attention to the many important military events that took place in the Lower Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border. It was here, for example, that many of the South’s cotton exports, all-important to its funding for the war effort, were shuttled across the Rio Grande into Mexico for shipment to markets across the Atlantic. It was here that the Union blockade was felt perhaps most keenly. And it was here where longstanding cross-border rivalries and shifting political fortunes on both sides of the river made for a constant undercurrent of intrigue. And yet, most accounts of this long and bloody conflict give short shrift to the complexities of the ethnic tensions, political maneuvering, and international diplomacy that vividly colored the Civil War in this region.

Now, Christopher L. Miller, Russell K. Skowronek, and Roseann Bacha-Garza have woven together the history and archaeology of the Lower Rio Grande Valley into a densely illustrated travel guide featuring important historical and military sites of the Civil War period. Blue and Gray on the Border integrates the sites, colorful personalities, cross-border conflicts, and intriguing historical vignettes that outline the story of the Civil War along the Texas-Mexico border. This resource-packed book will aid heritage travelers, students, and history buffs in their discovery of the rich history of the Civil War in the Rio Grande Valley.
 
1128593338
Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail
Runner-up, 2019 Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Book Award, sponsored by the Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association (TOMFRA)

Most general histories of the Civil War pay scant attention to the many important military events that took place in the Lower Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border. It was here, for example, that many of the South’s cotton exports, all-important to its funding for the war effort, were shuttled across the Rio Grande into Mexico for shipment to markets across the Atlantic. It was here that the Union blockade was felt perhaps most keenly. And it was here where longstanding cross-border rivalries and shifting political fortunes on both sides of the river made for a constant undercurrent of intrigue. And yet, most accounts of this long and bloody conflict give short shrift to the complexities of the ethnic tensions, political maneuvering, and international diplomacy that vividly colored the Civil War in this region.

Now, Christopher L. Miller, Russell K. Skowronek, and Roseann Bacha-Garza have woven together the history and archaeology of the Lower Rio Grande Valley into a densely illustrated travel guide featuring important historical and military sites of the Civil War period. Blue and Gray on the Border integrates the sites, colorful personalities, cross-border conflicts, and intriguing historical vignettes that outline the story of the Civil War along the Texas-Mexico border. This resource-packed book will aid heritage travelers, students, and history buffs in their discovery of the rich history of the Civil War in the Rio Grande Valley.
 
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Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail

Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail

Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail

Blue and Gray on the Border: The Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail

Paperback(Travel Guides)

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Overview

Runner-up, 2019 Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Book Award, sponsored by the Texas Old Missions and Forts Restoration Association (TOMFRA)

Most general histories of the Civil War pay scant attention to the many important military events that took place in the Lower Rio Grande Valley along the Texas-Mexico border. It was here, for example, that many of the South’s cotton exports, all-important to its funding for the war effort, were shuttled across the Rio Grande into Mexico for shipment to markets across the Atlantic. It was here that the Union blockade was felt perhaps most keenly. And it was here where longstanding cross-border rivalries and shifting political fortunes on both sides of the river made for a constant undercurrent of intrigue. And yet, most accounts of this long and bloody conflict give short shrift to the complexities of the ethnic tensions, political maneuvering, and international diplomacy that vividly colored the Civil War in this region.

Now, Christopher L. Miller, Russell K. Skowronek, and Roseann Bacha-Garza have woven together the history and archaeology of the Lower Rio Grande Valley into a densely illustrated travel guide featuring important historical and military sites of the Civil War period. Blue and Gray on the Border integrates the sites, colorful personalities, cross-border conflicts, and intriguing historical vignettes that outline the story of the Civil War along the Texas-Mexico border. This resource-packed book will aid heritage travelers, students, and history buffs in their discovery of the rich history of the Civil War in the Rio Grande Valley.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781623496821
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Publication date: 12/17/2018
Edition description: Travel Guides
Pages: 226
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

CHRISTOPHER L. MILLER, professor of history at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, is associate director of the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS). He is the author of Prophetic Worlds: Indians and Whites on the Columbia Plateau and resides in Edinburg, Texas. RUSSELL K. SKOWRONEK, professor of history and anthropology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, is the founding director of the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) program. He is the author of X Marks the Spot: The Archaeology of Piracy and HMS Fowey Lost . . . and Found! He resides in McAllen, Texas. ROSEANN BACHA-GARZA serves as program manager for the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools (CHAPS) program at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She is coeditor of The Native American Peoples of South Texas. She resides in McAllen, Texas.

Table of Contents

Foreword John L. Nau III ix

Preface: Born of Frustration: Building the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail xiii

Acknowledgments xxi

Introduction: How to Use This Book 1

1 The Contested History of the Rio Grande Valley: Framing the Civil War Era 3

2 Cameron County Sites and Events 33

3 Hidalgo County Sites and Events 79

4 Starr County Sites and Events 103

5 Zapata County Sites and Events 129

6 Webb County Sites and Events 143

7 US Colored Troops 162

8 Beyond the Rio Grande Valley Civil War Trail: Exploring the American Civil War in Texas and Mexico 174

Epilogue 189

About the Authors 193

Index 195

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