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This month, our Five Things column features co-authors Scott Mingus and Joe Owen whose Unceasing Fury: Texans at the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18–20, 1863, was released May 2022. Here, Scott and Joe share five facts they discovered while researching and compiling this book.
Take it away Scott and Joe. . .
1) Scott: As a career research scientist and technology executive, I have always particularly enjoyed the research phase of writing. I like digging through journals, letters, diaries, newspapers, etc. for pertinent information. In this case, Joe did a lot of the deep dive into the sources, so I could focus on taking his information and turning it into prose.
Joe: While in the USN I was a Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 1st Class Petty Officer. It's quite a mouthful. In easier terms, I "listened," transcribed morse code and non-morse code signals. I have been to 27 countries and 40 out of the 50 states.
2) Scott: All of the previous 25 history books that I have written (plus my six wargaming scenario books that I wrote) have dealt with the Eastern Theater. When Joe asked me to join him in this joint project, I immediately said yes. The doubts came later because I am by no means an expert on the West. However, I had previously been to Chickamauga a half-dozen times while on business trips to Atlanta, so that helped a lot!
Joe: I have always had an interest in the Civil War. My Dad worked for the Department of the Interior. When we lived in Alexandria, VA (1968-1971,) he took the family to Petersburg Battlefield. I was 4-5 years old and it was one of my earliest memories.
3) Scott: There is no substitute for walking the ground while interpreting the primary sources. The soldiers were there; I was not. Having a good, solid working knowledge of the terrain cannot be underestimated. I made several more trips to Chickamauga to check out sight lines, walk the attack routes, etc.
Joe: Three months after the Battle of Gettysburg, Longstreet's Corps was transferred to Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee, a few days before the Battle of Chickamauga. All the corp's regiments had to "adjust" their way of fighting the enemy and work with other Confederate regiments. When regiments that were part of the Army of Tennessee first saw Hood's Texas Brigade's regiments, many thought they were Union soldiers because Hood's Texans and Arkansanans had the same uniform colors and style, while soldiers in the Army of Tennessee didn't have the same types of uniforms and fought in "civilian clothes."
The confusion led to many undesired encounters with the regiments. Many soldiers in Hood's Texas Brigade commented that during the Battle of Chickamauga, Union regiments under General Rosecran's would fight and not retreat like soldiers on the Army of the Potomac. The Confederates also observed that the Union regiments during the Battle of Chickamauga were also better shots. This led to the respect of Union regiments of the western theater. Many also observed that the Battle of Chickamauga was more dangerous and lethal than the Battle of Gettysburg.
A good majority of the Texans who fought at Chickamauga came from "Dismounted" Cavalry Regiments. Some regiments had to combine because of the loss of Confederate soldiers in the western/trans-Mississippi theater from 1861 to 1863. Chickamauga and its aftermath are one of the great "what ifs" of the Civil War. What if Bragg would have pursued Rosecran's army immediately after the battle instead of wasting valuable time not pursuing it? Would the outcome have been different?
4) Scott: The Texans who were at Chickamauga wrote the story with their blood, tears, and memories. All I had to do was organize their reminiscences and place them in context. Hopefully, as you read our books, you will get a glimpse of their emotions as they fought in the woods and fields of northern Georgia.
Joe: Much of the material used in "Unceasing Fury: Texans at the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18-20, 1863," came from the outstanding website "Portal to Texas History," this outstanding database contains newspapers from Texas that go back to when Texas was part of the Spanish and Mexican empire. The database also has digitized rare books, photographs, county histories, biographies, and other excellent material that can be accessed by the public at no charge. It is one of the best historical databases in the United States today.
5) Scott: Working with a talented co-author is a pleasure. Joe is the eighth different history-oriented person that I have been privileged to write collaboratively for commercial publication (not including my co-authors of the various paper industry reports, magazine articles, and books that I have also written) and each one has helped me hone my skills and learn something new.
Joe: It was an outstanding collaboration working with Scott Mingus. I wanted to work with Scott for a long time, and when I asked him to be a co-author on our book and he accepted it was great! I look forward to working with Scott in the future!
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