The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition of 1864 facts for kids
Cover of the book
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| Author | Kyle Sinisi |
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| Cover artist | Andy Thomas |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Price's Missouri Expedition |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Rowman & Littlefield |
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Publication date
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2015 |
| Pages | 432 |
| ISBN | 978-0-7425-4535-9 |
The Last Hurrah: Sterling Price's Missouri Expedition of 1864 is a 2015 book written by Kyle Sinisi and published by Rowman & Littlefield about Price's Missouri Expedition, an 1864 campaign of the American Civil War that failed to wrest control of the state of Missouri from the Union. Sinisi focused on the military expedition itself, but also covered political machinations that occurred during the expedition as well as topography and logistics. The Last Hurrah posits that the campaign should not be viewed as a raid due to its magnitude, that the Battle of Mine Creek had elements of a massacre, and that Missouri did not want to give up Union control. Reviewers praised the work, especially its ability to cover the campaign comprehensively while also discussing factors such as politics and the effects of guerrilla warfare.
Content
The Last Hurrah was written by Kyle Sinisi and published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2015. It is part of a series of books published by Rowman & Littlefield about the war titled "The American Crisis: Books on the Civil War Era". Sinisi is a veteran of the United States Army who received a Ph.D. in history from Kansas State University. He primarily researches the political and military history of the United States, especially the American Civil War and the Gilded Era. He is a professor at The Citadel, a military college in South Carolina. The book is about Price's Missouri Expedition, an 1864 campaign of the American Civil War in which Confederate States Army troops led by general Sterling Price invaded the state of Missouri. The expedition saw the Confederates enter Missouri in hopes of capturing the city of St. Louis, gathering supplies, and creating a popular revolt against Union control of the state. Strong Union positions led Price to not attack St. Louis or the state capital of Jefferson City, and the Confederates moved westwards across the state until they were defeated at the Battle of Westport in October. Price and his men then retreated south into Texas, having lost over two-thirds of the soldiers who entered the state.
According to reviewer Wesley Moody for the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, the campaign has been historically understudied, and Sinisi's work has been described as a comprehensive treatment of it. While the primary focus of the book is about Price's men's trek across Missouri, it also discusses the effects political battles in the state of Kansas had on the campaign. Sinisi posits that the campaign should not be considered an ordinary raid, as the magnitude of Price's invasion was greater than that of other cavalry actions during the American Civil War. The Last Hurrah attributes the eventual defeat of the Confederate expedition to logistics issues, Price's leadership, and that Missouri "ultimately did not want to be liberated". Sinisi describes the effects of topography and logistics in the work, including noting that the logistical issues inherent to the campaign rendered it essentially doomed from the start.
Sinisi drew from a variety of sources, including letters, newspapers, and postwar writings, as well as secondary sources. The book provides different casualty figures than those traditionally reported for the action, as those provided in prior studies were too high for several battles. He also compares the results of the expedition and prior guerrilla warfare to the effects of total war, and contends that the Battle of Mine Creek had hallmarks of a massacre, rather than a battle. The book also reexamines estimates of the size of the wagon train Price brought with his army and Price's mindsets for holding onto the train. The Last Hurrah is illustrated with maps and has an extensive bibliography. The book's front cover features the painting Shelby and His Men at Westport by Andy Thomas.
