Like so many, my interest in Genealogy started with a story. We learn much about our ancestors through diaries, family stories and traditions, photographs, genealogical data and records, heirlooms, and more. One great way to understand your ancestors even better is to study history. From major events to local histories, we can learn about the political and economic environment in which our ancestors lived. We can learn about their occupations and how they would have performed those jobs at different times in history; using different tools, with or without electricity, long days and weekend work. How did war, crime, justice, and peace affect their daily lives? What happened in their corner of the world when these events took place?
For answers, we must sometimes look beyond our ancestors, past our own family history, and become students of history in general. This is one reason Family Roots Publishing carries more than just research guides and how-to books. Their collection extends to important volumes like maps, charts, histories and much more. One interesting set of histories they carry center around the Civil War. In this article I will review the first of many of these books, Civil War in Kansas.
This interesting volume, written by Roy Bird, looks at the role Kansas and Kansans played in the Civil War. Written in story book style, though entirely a non-fiction work based solely on fact, the book paints a picture of all aspects of the war and its affect upon the state. Take the following quote as example of the author’s style:
“Gunsmoke and the clouds of the men’s breath filled the air until the Missourians abandoned the field to the Federals. The victors of the Battle of Island Mound then collected a good share of booty, captured ‘a large amount of stock,’ and returned to Fort Scott in triumph.”
Kansas was born in the conflict of war. When seven southern states ceded from the Union, and no longer had representatives to cast a no vote in Congress, Kansas was quickly voted in as the newest state. Kansas officially became a “free” state when signed in being by President Buchanan on January 29, 1861. The population made in large of early settlers celebrated their reunion with the country, again becoming citizen of the United States. Little did they know that in just two short months they would be thrown into the full conflict of war.
Civil War in Kansas portrays in vivid detail the wars direct affect on Kansas. The events, battles, and major players, that waged war in and around the people and towns in Kansas are told so as to appreciate what people must have felt and seen. Reading history in this style and format both helps to bring alive the events as they occurred, and also to better understand and appreciate, even draw closer to, one’s own ancestors.
Histories, such as Civil War in Kansas, make the study of genealogy more interesting through the details of life as lived by our ancestors. The details add meaning to the names and dates we readily collect. If your family comes from Kansas, then this book will help you better understand their lives. If your family comes from another part of the country, then you will still gain value in your expanded understanding 0f the Civil War as it played out in all parts of the country.
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1 “From a Shanghai Rooster to the Durham Cow”: 1861–62
Chapter 2 “Overrun with Thieves and Highway Robbers”: 1862
Chapter 3 “Courage, Stubbornness, and Determination”: 1863
Chapter 4 “Every Man … 18 to 60, to Arms”: 1864–64
Selected Bibliography
Appendix: Index of Battles, Skirmishes, and Raids
Keep an eye for our reviews of similar volumes on the Civil War, coming soon.
Your own copy of Civil War in Kansas awaits at Family Roots Publishing; Item #:PP646.