Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War

by Michael Fellman

Book Overview

During the Civil War, the state of Missouri witnessed the most widespread, prolonged, and destructive guerrilla fighting in American history. With its horrific combination of robbery, arson, torture, murder, and swift and bloody raids on farms and settlements, the conflict approached total war, engulfing the whole populace and challenging any notion of civility. Michael Fellman's Inside War captures the conflict from "inside," drawing on a wealth...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195064712
• ISBN13: 9780195064711
• Release Date: April 1990
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Succinct and penetrating analysis

The first book I have found that explains the whys and not just the hows of the slaughter that took place in Missouri during the Civil War. The author contends that, while most residents had pro-slavery sentiments, they were also pro-Union. Therefore, most of them were not pure enough ideologically for either side, and thus subject to punitive raids from both sides. I haven't finished it yet, but it is definitely the most incisive analysis I have read thus far.

Draws you into a whole new aspect of the civil war.

Dr. Fellman has shown his expertise in the history field with this book. The author has done an excellent job of bringing to light the guerrilla conflict in Missouri. He has taken a previously unstudied event in history and made it available to all to study and become aware of. Backed up with innumerable quotes and primary documents, Dr. Fellman has provided the reader with undeniable evidence of his arguments and conclusions. "Inside War" is an excellent reference book concerning a specific aspect of the Civil War and can be read and understood by any college level student.