Red River

By P.G. Nagle

Book Overview

P. G. Nagle, "author of some of the best fiction written about Texas history" (Edward T. Cotham, Jr., author of Battle on the Bay: The Civil War Struggle for Galveston), writes with power and poignancy of a bloody campaign little chronicled but of great strategic to both North and South. Nagle tells the story of the struggle for dominance among the bayous and rivers of the Mississippi basin in an authoritative narrative both unflinching and compassionate, adding yet another memorable chapter to the chronicle of the Civil War fought in the Far West.The port city of Galveston has been reclaimed by the confederacy, and Jamie Russell's battalion, the Valverde Battery, is growing in respect and recognition. Jamie is sent to Louisiana on the shores of the Red River, a Confederate controlled waterway which leads into Texas. With the confederacy holding strong, it appears that Jamie might finally see some quiet.But Union General Nathaniel Banks has other ideas. Setting his sights on the river in order to disrupt confederate supply routes as well as to gain a foothold in Texas, Banks orders a two-pronged attack on the soldiers holding the Red River. His plan moves one force of Union soldiers down from Arkansas while a fleet of ironclads and steamers makes its way up the river itself.The Confederates, meanwhile, have secretly beached the huge steamer New City Falls across the river, each end touching shore, so the ship forms an unmovable blockade. By digging canals to reroute the water from the river, the rebels make sure the Red is low when the union ships arrive. Unable to move forward or retreat through the shallow water, the union troops are helpless under the fire of the rebels, including the Valverde Battery.The Confederates seem to have won, but the Union soldiers aren't going to give up that easily. When the rebel commander falls to the federal artillery, and the Union begins to set up dams to divert water for an escape, it is the rebels who must fight to keep their heads above the water. But the Confederate forces on the Red River face a still rougher path. For the North has elsewhere begun to turn the tide of war, making the Valverde battery's future uncertain.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765303442
• ISBN13: 9780765303448
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Forge Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.3" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Wrapping Up an Excellent Civil War Historical Fiction Series

This is the fourth and final (it appears) book in P.G. Nagle's "Civil War in the Far West" series. The series started with "Glorietta Pass", and continued with "The Guns of Valverde", and then "Galveston". I think this book really demonstrates how Ms Nagle has grown into her writing abilities. The first book was well researched and there were several strong characters but the plot seemed to be pretty basic and even predictable. But as she progressed through this series she just got better and better. The research was still outstanding, exhaustive even, but her characters were better written. The plots take place against historical realities so that, of course, can't be changed. But how her fictional characters act and interact with others has become delightful. This last book in the series illustrates that very well, with her long-time character, confederate officer Jamie Russell, becoming truly multi-dimensional. Ms Nagle's wartime action scenes are very well done as well. I felt like I was there, not in any kind of heroic battle sense but definitely feeling the fear, the exhaustion, and the filth of battle. Jamie leads his gun battery and is in the thick of battles...you can just hear the explosions and see the men around him struggle to do their duty. The Red River itself, a tributary to the Mississippi River, takes on a life of its own, especially as the Union boats try to free their ships from shallow waters in order to secure the entire Mississippi, a crutial strategy for the war. All in all, this wraps up a very good historical fiction series. I just love it when a novelist takes great pains to get the history right. Ms Nagle doesn't scrimp on that for sure. I was happy to see it progress but I wish there were one more novel to finish out the war. This one does take us up to where the end is in sight though, so perhaps another would be anti-climactic.