The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 72, July 1968 - April, 1969 Page: 517

Book Reviews

defender, and returning unscathed through a hail of bullets. (The
tale of Billy Dixon unhorsing an Indian adversary at seven-eighths of
a mile with a rifle shot is legendary.)
The battles depicted by the writers are assorted between regular
armies, between volunteers and warriors, and between civilians and
Indian coalition forces. The articles are of uneven quality but on the
whole are entertaining reading. The paintings and their description
make a fine contribution as does the introduction.
Midwestern University KENNETH F. NEIGHBOURS
Hood's Texas Brigade in Poetry and Song. By Harold B. Simpson.
Hillsboro (Hill Junior College), 1968. Pp. 298. $7.00.
This is the first of three volumes to appear in a series on Hood's
Texas Brigade. Colonel Simpson is the best authority on the brigade,
having devoted years of travel and research to assembling information.
Besides the brigade's actual war chronicle, he is interested in what
happened to the men involved between then and now. The present
volume examines and presents an anthology of poems concerning
Hood's Texas Brigade written since the Civil War. In 1872 an asso-
ciation was formed, a kind of alumni of the brigade, which existed
until 1933. At the entertainments and reunions sponsored by this or-
ganization poems written by various people were read. Part of Colonel
Simpson's book deals with the poems, and part with songs. All of
these are eulogistic, rhymey creations, some of which were preserved
in newspapers and others in old manuscripts.
That this type of poetry should weave the legend of Hood's Texas
Brigade is not surprising. Probably the many authors learned the style
in school, and went along writing poems at portentous times. Colonel
Simpson points out that the veterans in the audience were probably
standing in judgment on the most minute fact stated in each poem or
song. Their opinions are, unfortunately, lost. Sometimes this book in-
cludes matter which seems unnecessary; for example, in spite of its
being a great favorite of the veterans, it seems to me pointless to in-
clude Robert Burns' "Auld Lang Syne," as well as a biographical
sketch of its author, also his picture. I would rather have had more
text, and more opinion by the author about the verses and songs and
why they were as they were and how they changed in all those years.
The interest of Colonel Simpson's book will be among Civil War

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