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Edge of the Sword: The Ordeal of Carpetbagger Marshall H. Twitchell in the Civil War and Reconstruction
Ted Tunnell's superbly researched biography of Marshall H. Twitchell is a major addition to Reconstruction literature. New England native, Union soldier, Freedmen's Bureau agent, and Louisiana planter, Twitchell became the radical political boss of Red River Parish in the 1870s. He forged an economic alliance with entrepreneurial Jewish merchants and rose to power during the first upswing of the southern economy after the war. The Panic of 1873, however, undermined his regime and virtually overnight the New Englander quickly went from financial benefactor to scapegoat for northwest Louisiana's failed dreams of prosperity. His life-and-death struggle with the notorious White League has more gut-wrenching suspense than most novels. The first full-length study of Twitchell, Edge of the Sword is edifying, entertaining, and cutting-edge scholarship.
- GenresCivil War
344 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 28, 2019
Few know that Louisiana's Red River Valley was the most violent patch of the former Confederacy during Reconstruction. Two of the era's bloodiest incidents occurred here, one being the Colfax Massacre, and that of Coushatta involving Twitchell and his family. (I can recall my grandfather mentioning Lisso's Store, still operating after Reconstruction.)
Local historians continue to write that carpetbagging Republicans like Twitchell brought the violence on themselves, by running a political machine that squashed local self-government, leaving the White Leagues little choice but to engage in insurrectionary violence. The only problem is that said violence always seemed to attack outnumbered (and preferably unarmed) opponents, and was not above the bullet in the back on night time roads. Twitchell's own miraculous survival of a cold-blooded assassination attempt, helpless in a rowboat, at the hands of a planter in Eastwoodesque disguise is a story too brutally realistic even for Hollywood; as was the massacre of his family at the same moment, fleeing for their lives out of Red River Parish. Twitchell's brother screaming for a gun to defend himself while being cowardly slaughtered forever tarnishes the image of chivalry so polished by Southern mythologists.
Although somewhat tedious in its beginning and ending chapters, Ted Tunnel's account is a fascinating recreation of a little-known frontier, where national policies were defeated by sheer terrorism on the ground. One might say that while the Union won the battles, it lost the larger war precisely because it had no stomach for the political struggles necessary to consolidate its victory. The likes of Marshall Twitchell were indeed lambs led to slaughter, to salve the conscience of a nation unwilling to finish the grim tasks left behind.
Local historians continue to write that carpetbagging Republicans like Twitchell brought the violence on themselves, by running a political machine that squashed local self-government, leaving the White Leagues little choice but to engage in insurrectionary violence. The only problem is that said violence always seemed to attack outnumbered (and preferably unarmed) opponents, and was not above the bullet in the back on night time roads. Twitchell's own miraculous survival of a cold-blooded assassination attempt, helpless in a rowboat, at the hands of a planter in Eastwoodesque disguise is a story too brutally realistic even for Hollywood; as was the massacre of his family at the same moment, fleeing for their lives out of Red River Parish. Twitchell's brother screaming for a gun to defend himself while being cowardly slaughtered forever tarnishes the image of chivalry so polished by Southern mythologists.
Although somewhat tedious in its beginning and ending chapters, Ted Tunnel's account is a fascinating recreation of a little-known frontier, where national policies were defeated by sheer terrorism on the ground. One might say that while the Union won the battles, it lost the larger war precisely because it had no stomach for the political struggles necessary to consolidate its victory. The likes of Marshall Twitchell were indeed lambs led to slaughter, to salve the conscience of a nation unwilling to finish the grim tasks left behind.
January 6, 2013
I've just reread this book. Several years ago it launched my interest in Reconstruction. This remarkable story based on a long-lost autobiography by an old Yankee. It was written at the dawn of the Jim Crow era when Northern whites abandoned blacks and reconciled their differences with Southern whites. The rediscovery of this manuscript played a role in the revision of Reconstruction era history.
Marshall Harvey Twitchell was a Vermonter who fought in many Civil War battles. He led colored troops at the end of the war and afterwards became a Freedman's Bureau agent in northern Louisiana. Not only did he soon marry a Southern Belle, he became a State Senator and a wealthy plantation owner. While the Southern economy was drifting toward sharecropping, Twitchell's enterprises thrived. He consistently protected, employed, and empowered blacks which infuriated his neighbors. Much of the rest of the story is a tragic metaphor for the decline of Reconstruction. Twitchell was a hated man in the South for years after he died, but in Vermont his remarkable life is just being re-discovered.
I have sympathy for students rating a book they are required to read, but if you have a genuine interest in Reconstruction, this is a great read.
Marshall Harvey Twitchell was a Vermonter who fought in many Civil War battles. He led colored troops at the end of the war and afterwards became a Freedman's Bureau agent in northern Louisiana. Not only did he soon marry a Southern Belle, he became a State Senator and a wealthy plantation owner. While the Southern economy was drifting toward sharecropping, Twitchell's enterprises thrived. He consistently protected, employed, and empowered blacks which infuriated his neighbors. Much of the rest of the story is a tragic metaphor for the decline of Reconstruction. Twitchell was a hated man in the South for years after he died, but in Vermont his remarkable life is just being re-discovered.
I have sympathy for students rating a book they are required to read, but if you have a genuine interest in Reconstruction, this is a great read.
April 26, 2010
I had to buy this book for a history class I took. It always irritates me when we have to buy books that the professor wrote and it was impossible to find online. The campus bookstore ran out and he started quizzing us on it before many had even gotten the book. So, with a bad taste already in my mouth about the book and my general dislike for learning about Civil War era history, I read it all the way through. Each chapter was a chore. It was tedious and dry with the occasional humorous moment thrown in. How he found so much information on this one Civil War soldier beats me and frankly some of the details sound embellished. Anyway, for what it was, I suppose it wasn't a terrible book and if you're into that part of history you might love it. And maybe if it hadn't been such a hassel to get my hands on the book I wouldn't have been in a bad mood about it before I'd even started. I'm sure that clouded my judgement.
March 8, 2011
Required reading for Professor Tunnell's American History class.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews