Friday, April 18, 2008

New Book Released: The Battle of Massard Prairie


I'm pleased to announce the publication of my latest Civil War book, The Battle of Massard Prairie.

The book explores the history of a fascinating battle that took place on the outskirts of Fort Smith, Arkansas on July 27, 1864.

The Battle of Massard Prairie was one of the most dramatic Confederate victories of the Civil War in Arkansas and was especially significant because: 1) it included a mass cavalry charge across miles of open ground, 2) white and Native American Confederate soldiers fought side by side and 3) it resulted in one of the few documented cases of Union soldiers scalping Southern dead.

This book was completed a little over one year ago and is being published by Yuchi Heritage of Florida. The profits are being donated to various historic preservation efforts. 50% will go to the development of a new Driving Tour of the Cane Hill Battlefield in Arkansas and the rest will go to other worthwhile projects.

The book is available now at http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/ (just look for the Battle of Massard Prairie heading), where you can also learn more about the battle. It will be available at the gift shop of Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park in Arkansas in 7-10 days and will begin to pop up on the various online bookstores over the next month or so. Additional locations will be announced soon.

2 comments:

DW@CWBA said...

Great news, Dale.

What led William to call his publishing outfit "Yuchi Heritage"? I'd never heard of that Indian group until I googled the name after seeing your post.

Dale Cox said...

Drew, thank you very much for the note!

He is named for the Yuchi chief Efie Emathla (William Brown), an ancestor.

The Yuchi were the last Creeks to resist forced removal from Alabama to what is now Oklahoma. They fought the U.S. Army beginning in 1836 until they were overwhelmed in Alabama and then withdrew down to Florida and continued the fight.

Small groups of them still live in communities scattered around Northwest Florida, where they managed to hang on and survive without ever giving in to the government.

The publishing firm is being established as a nonprofit to benefit both historic preservation and Native American cultural efforts. Over the next couple of years it will publish a series of manuscripts I wrote over the last 15 years or so and use the revenue generated to support a variety of worthwhile historic preservation and cultural causes.

Best,
Dale