Although depicted on a U.S. postage stamp and post card, Confederate Brigadier General and Cherokee Chief Stand Watie is virtually unknown to readers. The only Indian to be promoted to general on either side of the civil war, Watie was also the last Confederate general to surrender to Union forces. This book traces his skirmishes and battles--some victories, some defeats--during that terrible war. Pea Ridge was the largest battle west of the Mississippi where Watie led his Cherokee Mounted Rifles regiment. Later, Watie became the first cavalry commander to capture a Union ship, the J.R. Williams, underway in the Arkansas River. After his surrender to a Union commissioner, Watie--a man called by events and his Cherokee people to uncommon valor and leadership--continued to represent and inspire his people during the bitter period of reconstruction in the Indian Territory which eventually became the state of Oklahoma.
Army lieutenant colonel Sam Briscoe volunteers for a job in exotic, wartime Cambodia to escape the routines of Pentagon duty and an acrid divorce. His new job gains an unexpected dimension when the Army Chief of Staff assigns Briscoe a secret task while in Cambodia which only the Chief of Staff and an Assistant Secretary of State know about. Once in Phnom Penh, Briscoes immediate boss, Brigadier General Cleveland, orders him to eliminate phantom soldiers from Cambodian army payrolls. Cleveland also admonishes Briscoe against advising the Cambodians and talking to reporters, particularly American ones. Briscoe quickly discovers that the pay for the non-existent or phantom soldiers goes into the pockets of their commanders. This introduces him to the fraud and graft rampant in the Cambodian armed forces as well as the government. Briscoes no win job is further complicated by an instantaneous--but forbidden romance--withAmerican freelance reporter Beth Keller. Once the American ambassador, to whom General Cleveland reports, hears about the romance, he tries to blackmail Briscoe into coercing Beth to soften her scathing investigative reporting about diplomatic bumbling at the American Embassy. While inspecting Cambodian infantry battalions, Briscoe unwittingly crosses the grey line between advising and assisting about which Cleveland warned. Beth Kellers widely publicized article in U.S. media highlights Briscoes disobeying the U.S. Congressional edict, as well as his own generals admonition against advising. How Beth and Briscoe solve their personal problems, while balancing their jobs and precarious positions with the ambassador and general, add to the drama of the helicopter evacuation of Americans from Communist-besieged Phnom Penh. The struggle between the army officer, his general, the ambassador plus an embassy political officer stalking Beth ends with the evacuation. One of the four will be the last American escaping Phnom Penh. Another wont make it.
Provides a fictional account of Sam Briscoe, an Army lieutenant colonel, whose secret job in wartime Cambodia exposes him to fraud in the Cambodian armed forces. His situation is further complicated by a forbidden romance with an American freelance reporter.
Most Americans are aware that Texas gained its independence from Santa Annas Mexico in the 1840s. Mention of the Alamo evokes the familiar names of heroes like Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis. All too often another group of heroes, heroines and patriots who fought and died for the independence of Texas is overlooked. The sacrifices, bravery and valor of that group--the Tejanos, Texans of Hispanic ancestry--are the focus of The Texas Revolution: Tejano Heroes. It was not just at famous battles such as Agua Dulce, Bexar, Goliad, the Alamo and San Jacinto that Tejanos made their mark on Texas history, often giving their lives and fortunes. Long before the arrival of Stephen F. Austin and settlers from the east, Tejanos were fighting for the independence of Tejas or Texas. The first declaration of Texas independence from Spain was issued in April 1813 by Bernardo Guiterrez de Lara. The first, and bloodiest, battle for Texas independence was fought at the battle of the Medina in August 1813. The first formal list of grievances against the Mexican government was issued by several Tejanos, including Juan Seguin and Gaspar Abrego de Flores, in October 1834. Recognition of the courage, abilities and endurance of Tejanos as major emancipators in the Texas Revolution is long overdue, hence this book.
Army lieutenant colonel Sam Briscoe volunteers for a job in exotic, wartime Cambodia to escape the routines of Pentagon duty and an acrid divorce. His new job gains an unexpected dimension when the Army Chief of Staff assigns Briscoe a secret task while in Cambodia which only the Chief of Staff and an Assistant Secretary of State know about. Once in Phnom Penh, Briscoes immediate boss, Brigadier General Cleveland, orders him to eliminate phantom soldiers from Cambodian army payrolls. Cleveland also admonishes Briscoe against advising the Cambodians and talking to reporters, particularly American ones. Briscoe quickly discovers that the pay for the non-existent or phantom soldiers goes into the pockets of their commanders. This introduces him to the fraud and graft rampant in the Cambodian armed forces as well as the government. Briscoes no win job is further complicated by an instantaneous--but forbidden romance--withAmerican freelance reporter Beth Keller. Once the American ambassador, to whom General Cleveland reports, hears about the romance, he tries to blackmail Briscoe into coercing Beth to soften her scathing investigative reporting about diplomatic bumbling at the American Embassy. While inspecting Cambodian infantry battalions, Briscoe unwittingly crosses the grey line between advising and assisting about which Cleveland warned. Beth Kellers widely publicized article in U.S. media highlights Briscoes disobeying the U.S. Congressional edict, as well as his own generals admonition against advising. How Beth and Briscoe solve their personal problems, while balancing their jobs and precarious positions with the ambassador and general, add to the drama of the helicopter evacuation of Americans from Communist-besieged Phnom Penh. The struggle between the army officer, his general, the ambassador plus an embassy political officer stalking Beth ends with the evacuation. One of the four will be the last American escaping Phnom Penh. Another wont make it.
Although depicted on a U.S. postage stamp and post card, Confederate Brigadier General and Cherokee Chief Stand Watie is virtually unknown to readers. The only Indian to be promoted to general on either side of the civil war, Watie was also the last Confederate general to surrender to Union forces. This book traces his skirmishes and battles--some victories, some defeats--during that terrible war. Pea Ridge was the largest battle west of the Mississippi where Watie led his Cherokee Mounted Rifles regiment. Later, Watie became the first cavalry commander to capture a Union ship, the J.R. Williams, underway in the Arkansas River. After his surrender to a Union commissioner, Watie--a man called by events and his Cherokee people to uncommon valor and leadership--continued to represent and inspire his people during the bitter period of reconstruction in the Indian Territory which eventually became the state of Oklahoma.
How Did Texas Survive The Civil War? More specifically, how did Texas manage to repulse invading Union armies? And why were there no major battles like Antietam, Shiloh or Gettysburg fought in Texas? Answers include that Texas was too far, too large and that Texans (over 80,000 fought in that terrible struggle) were too feisty. The Civil War in Texas and the Southwest answers the above while shedding new light on Texan audacity, bravery and just plain luck. Part one of the book provides a chronology of the tragically unsuccessful 1861-1862 invading expedition of Confederate General Sibleys Texas volunteers into New Mexico and Arizona. Sibley grandiously called his brigade the Confederate Army of New Mexico. Of the 3,700 Texans who left San Antonio on this campaign, only 2,000 stumbled back the next year. Part two contains little-known stories about failed Union efforts to conquer southern and eastern Texas between 1863-1865. For example, Galveston was occupied by Union forces in 1862, then recaptured during a six hour battle on New Years Day 1863. Further up the Texas coast at Sabine Pass, a Union flotilla of four warships, twenty-two troop transports loaded with 5,000 invasion troops was defeated by a young red-headed Irish Texan lieutenant and his 40 immigrant cannoneers from Eire. And who knows that 300 Texans repulsed 500 better-armed and provisioned Union troops at Palmito ranch in the southern tip of Texas? Palmito was the last battle of the war and was actually fought after Lees surrender. Author Sullivans previous, acclaimed book, Scattered Graves: The Civil War Campaigns of Confederate General and Cherokee Chief Stand Waitie, depicts Waties leadership and hit-and-run tactics. He was the only Indian to be promoted to general on either side and was also the last Confederate general to surrender. Both books are available through Authorhouse.
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