The Battle of Carthage: Border War in Southwest Missouri, July 5, 1861

by David C. Hinze, Karen Farnham

The battle of Carthage, Missouri, was fought more than two weeks before First Bull Run and was the culmination of the first major land campaign of the Civil War. The fight began with Federal officer Nathaniel Lyonís capture of the ammunition-packed St. Louis Arsenal. Gov. Claiborne F. Jackson unleashed the call for war and hastily formed militia units to defeat the Federals. In a bold campaign designed to destroy the vaunted state guard, Lyon and Federal Col. Franz Sigel launched a two-pronged attack. Ten miles north of the small town of Carthage, Jackson met Sigel and heavily outnumbered the Federal colonelís force. Sigel was forced to improvise a series of remarkable rearguard actions designed to save his supply wagons and his army. The Battle of Carthage is the first book devoted to this influential, early war battle. The book features detailed tactical coverage of the battle and in-depth biographical sketches, with critical evaluations of both sidesí major participants. The authorsí exhaustive battle analysis contains new interpretations of how and why the fighting evolved. This story of the battle of Carthage includes comprehensive original maps, photos and illustrations, a detailed discussion of casualties, explanatory endnotes, an order of battle, and an interview with coauthor David C. Hinze.

Genres: Civil War, Transmississippi, American Civil War

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes called the "first battle" of the American Civil War, Carthage was really a running skirmish between two asymmetrical forces. Neither side was particularly satisfied. The Union was driven off but the Confederates failed to capture the smaller Federal force and suffered heavier losses. In the end, it was more a Confederate victory.

This account is very detailed and spends its time speculating where information is scant. What is good is when Hinze and Farnham speculate they let you know in clear language. The maps are great, the narrative fair, and the account if not a page turner is not a didactic bore. If I have an issue, it is that not enough of the book is about the skirmish's aftermath.

[Billy Leon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. It was also frustrating due to the fact that it lacked clarity many times during the read. This was no fault of the author. This battle occurred over 164 years ago and the amount of documentation available from the participants is extremely limited. Also, because the battle occurred so long ago there is nobody still hanging around to ask. Conjecture, presupposition and analytical knowledge of the conflict have to rule judgement of the engagement itself. Almost any nuance to the battle seems to have at least two possible judgements. Did Jackson abdicate his command or did he delegate responsibility for it? Was Sigel a sound tactical commander or was he simply inept with a tremendous amount of good luck? What about the subordinate commanders in both commands? Some are crystal clear and some have a lot of fog around them.
For his part Mr. Hinze does a pretty good job telling the story of the battle with the limited amount of source material he could get his hands on. It leaves the reader wishing that there was more of the story to learn. Therein lies the rub, there is a lack of source material available. The things that are certain was that the state of Missouri sat atop a massive powder keg, Jackson and Sigel did meet in an early war skirmish that set the stage for future battles, and the author provides a fair amount of analytical insight that is at least plausible, if not absolute. Perhaps in the future someone will stumble onto a chest filled with documentation on this battle. Until then, this volume will have to suffice. I read it, I enjoyed it, but I wish it held more concrete evidence.

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for such a small battle, with a great description of the first few weeks of the Missouri campaign. While I'm not sure that Carthage qualifies as a "major battle" as the book claims, the authors show how this small battle could have had potentially affected the bigger war in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.