Louis S. Gerteis

Being a border city in a slave state, St. Louis might have gone either way in the secession crisis. This is the story of how and why it emerged as a citadel of free labor within the Union. The reasons were economic, political, legal, demographic, military, certainly not moral. The side that prevailed saw slavery as obsolete, a relic of the past, an obstacle to progress. The raid on Camp Jackson asserted federal control over the city, and the Stars and Bars went underground.

This book captures the angst and excitement of the time. The illustrations bring to life some of the prominent people and places. Good coverage of the Dred Scott case, the Camp Jackson affair, the refugee and fugitive slave crises, martial law and civil liberties issues, military prisons, the sanitary commissions and the ladies' relief societies, gunboat building at the Carondelet boatyard. An epilogue extends the story beyond the war.

This book is about the big shots at the top--the Fremonts, the Bentons, bankers, politicians, generals, lawyers, the courts, etc. If you want to learn how the Civil War affected the lives of ordinary St. Louisans, black and white, Galusha Anderson's book is probably a better choice. But if you want the legal fine points and the politics at the top, this is your book. It goes into great detail and is lavishly sourced.… (más)

Professor Gerteis provides an overview of military action in Missouri between 1861 and 1865. He believes the notorious guerrilla activities in Missouri have been more than adequately described by other writers and so mentions them only as they concern battles between regular soldiers. This is a competent, workman-like study. Gerteis covers the smaller battles between limited numbers of troops in northern Missouri as well as the more famous actions such as Camp Jackson, Boonville, Wilson's Creek, the Island No. 10 Campaign, and Westport fought on Missouri soil. All in all, an interesting book for the Missouri historian and the Civil War buff.… (más)