Steve,

No problem. No offense intended. If you'll look at my profile , you'll notice that all my Texas ancestors all fought in the Trans Miss. theater ( and even New Mexico !) so I can appreciate your feelings. I actually spend most of my time researching Green's New Mexico Campaign and CSA activities in Texas and Indian Territory, so I'm used to dealing with eastern sources ( usually out of Virginia ! ) who constantly refer to all western theaters as remote. I'm still not sure I understand why the Atlanta Campaign was and is considered "the west" by many WBTS historians. Have you ever heard a lecture by the famous ( and excellent) Civil War historians ,Krick father and son team? Wow, the son will tell you straight out that he does not care about any theater other than the one the ANV was involved in and the implication is that the other theaters really didn't count for much. I would not consider the early loss of New Orleans ( and later , Vicksburg) to be small 'taters ! Thank goodness for our western historians like Don Frazier and Jerry Thompson . Without them , I'm afraid we would not see too much new information written about the western theaters.

Concerning our brave CSA lads of the Trans-Miss., I just wish Braxton Bragg,Hood ,Polk and others( Cleburn , Forrest and Granbury excluded) in the "west" could have experienced half the battlefield success Richard Taylor, Tom Green, et al did in the Trans-Miss. I personally believe that Taylor's victory at Mansfield saved eastern Texas from being invaded and destroyed by Banks and his legions.I realize that Banks was not the brightest star in the Union army , but they still kicked his tail and sent him back to New Orleans.
Only in the last year or so have I discovered that I had an ancestor in Walker's Texas Division ( 22nd Texas Infantry) in the Trans-Miss theater so I have a new found appreciation for the Texas/Louisiana campaigns.
Best Regards, Craig