Chad and Art,

First, Chad. Of course I remember you. I just gave a lecture to NSU's Master of Historic Preservation program on Thursday and my lead slide in the Powerpoint is of the 15th Texas in formation at the Allen House with the lignite mine behind you. You can easily be identified. By the way, the audience cheered when I reviewed the slide at the end of the presentation.

Second, to both of you -

The new book, Through the Howling Wilderness will be out in October from Univesity of Tennessee Press. When I began my doctoral studies I was researching the Red River Campaign for my dissertation and One Damn Blunder was offered to me by Steven Woodworth as a separate project. It was limited to about 50,000 words. So I guess I did it backwards. The first book on my research was finished before my dissertation was complete. The new book is about 110,000 words. It takes One Damn Blunder and expands some sections while keeping true to the mission, explaining the campaign.

I had so much extra material in my doctoral research and I was limited by university rules at Lancaster in England, that I could not fit it all in. I think most people who go through this process find that to be true. This book contains the campaign and associated material without including full text of primary sources that I used as part of my research (thus the third book coming out next year.) This book expands the origins of the campaign, the Confederate defensive measures, the Camden Expedition, the aftermath of the Campaign, and has a full chapter on the Congressional hearings that fall and winter. I added some new maps and images. I also have the information on the four Confederate submarines at Shreveport and why Porter brought that incredibly inappropriate mix of vessels up the Red. -I have a spy map of Shreveport given to Porter at Cairo on Feb. 14, 1864 with a lot of details that would have convinced him to bring the Eastport and his other big gunned vessels. There are seven appendices- Appendix 1 is a list of the 104 Union naval vessels that participated in the campaign and the command to which they were attached. App. 2 is an improved Order of Battle for both sides that includes the units that were brought in at the end, but never participated in battle. The of O of B also has the Camden Expedition units. App 3 is a letter from Adm. Porter to the Naval Prize Court detailing which vessels deserve to be included in cotton acquistion at Alexandria two days before Banks arrived. App 4 is the letter Richard Taylor sent to Walker the night following the Battle of Mansfield and set the battle plan for the next day and sent Tom Green to Blair's Landing. App. 5 is a chronology of combined arms operations in the war. App. 6 is the letter I included in One Damn Blunder from David French Boyd to Taylor telling him to "move heaven and earth to remove the remaining water from Scopini Cutoff (Tones Bayou). App7 is a day by day chronology of the campaign.

I left extensive combat detail from new research to the third book. I have some accounts that are remarkable, including the account by the first sergeant of the skirmisher company of the Consolidated Crescent Regiment which led the charge at Mansfield and describes the attack of Taylor's left wing better than anything I have read. To compliment that is an account by a Union soldier in Nims' battery describing the attack. These two are bookends in their details. There are a lot more, but I will wait for later to describe them.

Chad, call me when you get in to town in July. I look forward to it. Art, when are you coming down?

Gary