The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984 Page: 107
468 p. : ill. (some col.), maps (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
West Point in 1846 and graduated in 185o, having compiled a respect-
able record. Three month later he resigned his commission as second
lieutenant of infantry, returned to the family estate, and became a sugar
planter and railroad engineer. During the latter part of the decade he
led Acadian vigilante forces against a powerful gang of outlaws that the
state and local authorities were unable or unwilling to suppress.
With this service, his West Point education, and the prominence
of his father in state politics, it was natural that Mouton should be
commissioned in the Confederate army when Louisiana joined the
new republic. In November he was appointed colonel of the Eigh-
teenth Louisiana, the rank and file being Acadians, and saw his first
major action at the battle of Shiloh, where he was wounded. Soon after
Shiloh, Mouton was promoted to brigadier general, and after a long
convalescence, he took the field again in October. For the rest of the
war he served in his native state, rising to the rank of major general.
He was killed instantly at the battle of Mansfield (April 8, 1864) while
leading his men against the invading army of Nathaniel P. Banks.
These are the salient facts presented in William Arceneaux's biogra-
phy. The author has used manuscript as well as published sources, al-
though they are perhaps not as extensive or as well-mined as one might
have hoped. The organization is clear and straightforward. The style,
which is generally satisfactory, suffers from an irritating habit of sub-
stituting dashes for commas and slashes for hyphens, and from oc-
casional lapses in spelling and grammar, all suggesting a less than
rigorous editing. The author sometimes tends to lose Mouton in larger
events, but that is often a problem in military history when the sub-
ject is a regimental or brigade commander. There are some mistakes.
When troops under Banks wrecked the Petite Anse salt works they
had not, in fact, "destroyed the South's supply of salt" (p. 88).
Mansfield was not the trans-Mississippi's "largest and most decisive
battle" (p. 132), nor were "about i,ooo Confederates killed at Mans-
field" (p. 135). These are relatively minor faults, however, and on the
whole, Arceneaux has written an interesting biography of a brave and
competent Acadian soldier.
Terrell's Texas Cavalry is a historical potpourri by Civil War en-
thusiast John W. Spencer. The first half of the book consists of a sketch
of the regiment's career from its organization in May, 1863, to its
disbandment two years later. Its component companies, originally re-
cruited in East Texas, had been organized in late 1862 and early 1863
before being combined as a regiment under the command of Alex-
ander Watkins Terrell. It was stationed near the Gulf Coast, generallyo07
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 87, July 1983 - April, 1984, periodical, 1983/1984; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117150/m1/127/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.