HORSE SWEAT AND POWDER SMOKE: THE FIRST TEXAS CAVALRY IN THE CIVIL WAR.
College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1999. xv,223pp. Index. Maps (9). Bibliography. Photographs. Illustrations. Hard cover. First edition. Fine copy in an equally nice dust jacket. First edition. The volume is a thoroughly researched, detailed narrative of a unit that served in every region and against every opponent in Confederate Texas. In this capacity, they provided frontier defense against the Indians in Central Texas, patrolled the Texas coast and fought in the Red River Campaign against Banks’ union regulars. Atypically, they were a well-trained, disciplined and cohesive force (as opposed to some of the other Texas units) and were trained in the use of the saber. Based on meticulous research of Confederate Army records, letters, diaries, published memoirs and reliable secondary sources, the author has produced an excellent unit history which provides valuable new insights into the Civil War in the West.