"The long agony" was over: Kansas, as of January 29, 1861, was a state—it had "moved to America." In Leavenworth, Lawrence, Topeka, and other towns Kansans celebrated the "glorious news" of the coming of statehood in a "fury of excitement." Cannons boomed, cheering crowds gathered on the street corners, a judge and a militia general stood on their heads, and the saloons were scenes of inebriated revelry.

So begins Albert Castel's classic history of Kansas during the Civil War. Long recognized as a key study on the war in the trans-Mississippi West, Civil War Kansas describes the political, military, social, and economic events of the state's first four years. Castel contributes to a better understanding of the Civil War in this region through a realistic presentation and analysis of the Kansas-Missouri border conflict, the operations of the Missouri guerrillas under Quantrill, and the Union and Confederate military campaigns in Missouri, Arkansas, the Indian Territory, and Kansas itself.

“In this spirited history, Castel, a Wichita native, uncovers villains by the dozen but nary a hero.”

—Wichita Eagle

“This superb history of Kansas during the Civil War era remains a model study that casts great light on the troubled history of the Western border.”

—David Herbert Donald, author of Lincoln

See all reviews...

“The best book we have on the Civil War in Kansas.”

—Allan Nevins, author of The War for the Union

“An eminently readable book, reflecting understanding of issues and leaders in a state which entered the Union just as the 'erring sisters' were attempting to depart.”

—Dudley Taylor Cornish, author of The Sable Arm: Black Troops in the Union Army

See fewer reviews...