Fallen Guidon: The Saga of Confederate General Jo Shelby's March to Mexico

By Edwin Adams Davis

Book Overview

Although Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April, 1865, some Confederates refused to abandon their cause. Fallen Guidon, originally published in 1962 by Jack Rittenhouse's Stagecoach Press, describes the adventures of a Confederate brigade that, rather than surrender, decided to transplant its vision of a Southern Empire in the troubled soil of Mexico. This popularly written history, based on archival sources and the reminiscences of Shelby's adjutant, brings vividly to life a little-remembered episode of the Civil War period and of American incursions in Mexico. General Jo Shelby had led the fiercely loyal and intensely chivalrous Missouri Cavalry Division through numerous battles in the Trans-Mississippi theater. At war's end he heard that the U.S. government supported the idea of ex-Confederates helping to oust European emperor Maximilian from Mexico. Deciding that his troops could save their honor and perhaps enrich themselves by coming to Mexico's aid, Shelby invited the men to participate in the adventure. But the former Rebels did not want to fight alongside Mexican guerrillas. Fallen Guidon traces the Iron Brigade's transformation into imperialists, the trail of blood they spilled from Piedras Negras to Mexico City, and the final futility of their cause, as Maximilian declined the mercenaries' services.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0890966834
• ISBN13: 9780890966839
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Texas A & M Univ Pr
• Length: 173 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Honor By Deeds: A Confederate View

General Jo Shelby's Final Review is re-enacted yearly in Chatfield, a small town near Corsicana, about 45 miles southeast of Dallas, Texas, in April. Shelby was the commander of the Missouri Cavalry Division in what was known as the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. His men distinguished themselves, often outnumbered, in battle after battle with the invading Yankees.What is not well-known is that General Shelby did not surrender his forces to swear allegiance to the United States. Rather, he asked, "who will go with me to Mexico?" and led his men south of the Rio Grande, to uncertain futures in a post-Confederate world. These non-political soldiers were weary of the years of deprivation in the Lost Cause. This book chronicles some of their adventures, first told to the author as part of oral familial history of the Iron Brigade. The author met several people in Mexico City in the 1940s who claimed to have witnessed the Last Review.Those who fought under "Old Jo" intended to maintain their sacred honor and "hatred of oppression" brought about by the invasion of the Southern states by what they felt was a mercenary army--and strangulation through blockade by an distained navy that deprived their countrymen, women, and children of basic necessities of life.This is very interesting reading to any student of the American Civil War. General Shelby and his men finally found themselves caught in a political situation--the desire of Mexico to maintain peace with the United States after a victory over the French--commemorated yearly in the festivals of Cinco de Mayo (recalling May 5, 1862) across the southwestern U.S.Their services refused, Shelby's last review was held in Mexico City, the Rebel Yell last heard amongst the ghosts of the Conquistadores, the Cavalry Guidon lowered, the battle flag having been buried somewhere on the border.These last Confederates dispersed, many going to colonies of expatriates in foreign lands, from Brazil to China. Many could not reconcile to live under the domination of what they considered a foreign occupation, politely called Reconstruction.A classic belonging in the library of any Civil War enthusiast.