Reviews
"This book is well documented and well written. It should be in the library of every serious student of the Union cavalry in the Civil War."-- Journal of Illinois History "With a firmness of purpose worthy of that demonstrated by the Prairie Boys, Rhonda Kohl has chronicled the service and actions of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry with an intimacy seldom woven into modern-day regimental histories. With passion and skill cultivated through ten years of diligent research, she examines the complex relationships among the officers and men--individuals who were of disparate cultural and social backgrounds, and traces the development of their cohesiveness as a unit and captures its identity. In the process she has also produced a good history of the war in the lower Mississippi River valley. So mount up for an exciting ride."-- Terrence J. Winschel , author of Triumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign, volumes one and two " The Prairie Boys Go to War presents the reader with a compelling combination of the military history of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry regiment in the Civil War with the intriguing story of its officers and men as they fought and survived under strenuous conditions in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. Kohl skillfully uses soldiers' diaries, memoirs, and letters to graphically tell the story of their lives and experiences as part of the 'Bloody Fifth,' and presents a rare look at a Union cavalry regiment in the Western Theater and the Fifth's part in the Union struggles to contain Confederate guerrilla activity." -- Jim Swan , author of Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War "A first-rate history of a Union cavalry regiment in the West that goes far beyond the standard narrative of miles marched and battles fought. Rhonda Kohl provides a richly detailed account of civilians in uniform beset by uncertain leadership and fractious political divisions amidst a sea of hostile Confederates. Few regimental histories have as much to say about the experiences of the men who served or say it as well."-- William L. Shea , author of Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign "Rhonda Kohl offers a vivid sense of the daily lives of Union soldiers at war in Arkansas and Mississippi. We meet them not only as fighting men but as Republicans and Democrats, poachers and pilferers, grassroots emancipators and intramural infighters, loving husbands and disease-ridden invalids. The men of southern Illinois were known as "Egyptians," and the plagues they encountered in the Trans-Mississippi--whether pestilence, high water, insects, extreme heat and bitter cold, or guerrilla armies--were indeed worthy of the Egypt of Moses's day. Kohl shows us the real war, and it's not one anybody will ever want to reenact."-- Patrick G. Williams , editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly "Kohl's nuanced cultural analysis of the regiment combined with her evenhanded treatment of the unit's military exploits yields a definitive narrative. The Prairie Boys Go to War sets the standard for what a good regimental history should be, and it belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in cavalry operations in the Western and Trans-Mississippi Theaters."-- Brian K. Robertson , Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, "With a firmness of purpose worthy of that demonstrated by the Prairie Boys, Rhonda Kohl has chronicled the service and actions of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry with an intimacy seldom woven into modern-day regimental histories. With passion and skill cultivated through ten years of diligent research, she examines the complex relationships among the officers and men-individuals who were of disparate cultural and social backgrounds, and traces the development of their cohesiveness as a unit and captures its identity. In the process she has also produced a good history of the war in the lower Mississippi River valley. So mount up for an exciting ride."- Terrence J. Winschel , author of Triumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign, volumes one and two The Prairie Boys Go to War presents the reader with a compelling combination of the military history of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry regiment in the Civil War with the intriguing story of its officers and men as they fought and survived under strenuous conditions in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. Kohl skillfully uses soldiers' diaries, memoirs, and letters to graphically tell the story of their lives and experiences as part of the 'Bloody Fifth,' and presents a rare look at a Union cavalry regiment in the Western Theater and the Fifth's part in the Union struggles to contain Confederate guerrilla activity." - Jim Swan , author of Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War "A first-rate history of a Union cavalry regiment in the West that goes far beyond the standard narrative of miles marched and battles fought. Rhonda Kohl provides a richly detailed account of civilians in uniform beset by uncertain leadership and fractious political divisions amidst a sea of hostile Confederates. Few regimental histories have as much to say about the experiences of the men who served or say it as well."- William L. Shea , author of Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign "Rhonda Kohl offers a vivid sense of the daily lives of Union soldiers at war in Arkansas and Mississippi. We meet them not only as fighting men but as Republicans and Democrats, poachers and pilferers, grassroots emancipators and intramural infighters, loving husbands and disease-ridden invalids. The men of southern Illinois were known as "Egyptians," and the plagues they encountered in the Trans-Mississippi-whether pestilence, high water, insects, extreme heat and bitter cold, or guerrilla armies-were indeed worthy of the Egypt of Moses's day. Kohl shows us the real war, and it's not one anybody will ever want to reenact."- Patrick G. Williams , editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly , "This book is well documented and well written. It should be in the library of every serious student of the Union cavalry in the Civil War."-- Journal of Illinois History "With a firmness of purpose worthy of that demonstrated by the Prairie Boys, Rhonda Kohl has chronicled the service and actions of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry with an intimacy seldom woven into modern-day regimental histories. With passion and skill cultivated through ten years of diligent research, she examines the complex relationships among the officers and men--individuals who were of disparate cultural and social backgrounds, and traces the development of their cohesiveness as a unit and captures its identity. In the process she has also produced a good history of the war in the lower Mississippi River valley. So mount up for an exciting ride."-- Terrence J. Winschel , author of Triumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign, volumes one and two " The Prairie Boys Go to War presents the reader with a compelling combination of the military history of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry regiment in the Civil War with the intriguing story of its officers and men as they fought and survived under strenuous conditions in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. Kohl skillfully uses soldiers' diaries, memoirs, and letters to graphically tell the story of their lives and experiences as part of the 'Bloody Fifth,' and presents a rare look at a Union cavalry regiment in the Western Theater and the Fifth's part in the Union struggles to contain Confederate guerrilla activity." -- Jim Swan , author of Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War "A first-rate history of a Union cavalry regiment in the West that goes far beyond the standard narrative of miles marched and battles fought. Rhonda Kohl provides a richly detailed account of civilians in uniform beset by uncertain leadership and fractious political divisions amidst a sea of hostile Confederates. Few regimental histories have as much to say about the experiences of the men who served or say it as well."-- William L. Shea , author of Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign "Rhonda Kohl offers a vivid sense of the daily lives of Union soldiers at war in Arkansas and Mississippi. We meet them not only as fighting men but as Republicans and Democrats, poachers and pilferers, grassroots emancipators and intramural infighters, loving husbands and disease-ridden invalids. The men of southern Illinois were known as "Egyptians," and the plagues they encountered in the Trans-Mississippi--whether pestilence, high water, insects, extreme heat and bitter cold, or guerrilla armies--were indeed worthy of the Egypt of Moses's day. Kohl shows us the real war, and it's not one anybody will ever want to reenact."-- Patrick G. Williams , editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly "Kohl's nuanced cultural analysis of the regiment combined with her evenhanded treatment of the unit's military exploits yields a definitive narrative. The Prairie Boys Go to War sets the standard for what a good regimental history should be, and it belongs on the shelf of anyone interested in cavalry operations in the Western and Trans-Mississippi Theaters."-- Brian K. Robertson , Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, "This book is well documented and well written. It should be in the library of every serious student of the Union cavalry in the Civil War."-- Journal of Illinois History "With a firmness of purpose worthy of that demonstrated by the Prairie Boys, Rhonda Kohl has chronicled the service and actions of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry with an intimacy seldom woven into modern-day regimental histories. With passion and skill cultivated through ten years of diligent research, she examines the complex relationships among the officers and men--individuals who were of disparate cultural and social backgrounds, and traces the development of their cohesiveness as a unit and captures its identity. In the process she has also produced a good history of the war in the lower Mississippi River valley. So mount up for an exciting ride."-- Terrence J. Winschel , author of Triumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign, volumes one and two " The Prairie Boys Go to War presents the reader with a compelling combination of the military history of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry regiment in the Civil War with the intriguing story of its officers and men as they fought and survived under strenuous conditions in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. Kohl skillfully uses soldiers' diaries, memoirs, and letters to graphically tell the story of their lives and experiences as part of the 'Bloody Fifth,' and presents a rare look at a Union cavalry regiment in the Western Theater and the Fifth's part in the Union struggles to contain Confederate guerrilla activity." -- Jim Swan , author of Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War "A first-rate history of a Union cavalry regiment in the West that goes far beyond the standard narrative of miles marched and battles fought. Rhonda Kohl provides a richly detailed account of civilians in uniform beset by uncertain leadership and fractious political divisions amidst a sea of hostile Confederates. Few regimental histories have as much to say about the experiences of the men who served or say it as well."-- William L. Shea , author of Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign "Rhonda Kohl offers a vivid sense of the daily lives of Union soldiers at war in Arkansas and Mississippi. We meet them not only as fighting men but as Republicans and Democrats, poachers and pilferers, grassroots emancipators and intramural infighters, loving husbands and disease-ridden invalids. The men of southern Illinois were known as "Egyptians," and the plagues they encountered in the Trans-Mississippi--whether pestilence, high water, insects, extreme heat and bitter cold, or guerrilla armies--were indeed worthy of the Egypt of Moses's day. Kohl shows us the real war, and it's not one anybody will ever want to reenact."-- Patrick G. Williams , editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly, "With a firmness of purpose worthy of that demonstrated by the Prairie Boys, Rhonda Kohl has chronicled the service and actions of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry with an intimacy seldom woven into modern-day regimental histories. With passion and skill cultivated through ten years of diligent research, she examines the complex relationships among the officers and men-individuals who were of disparate cultural and social backgrounds, and traces the development of their cohesiveness as a unit and captures its identity. In the process she has also produced a good history of the war in the lower Mississippi River valley. So mount up for an exciting ride."- Terrence J. Winschel , author of Triumph & Defeat: The Vicksburg Campaign, volumes one and two " The Prairie Boys Go to War presents the reader with a compelling combination of the military history of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry regiment in the Civil War with the intriguing story of its officers and men as they fought and survived under strenuous conditions in the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. Kohl skillfully uses soldiers' diaries, memoirs, and letters to graphically tell the story of their lives and experiences as part of the 'Bloody Fifth,' and presents a rare look at a Union cavalry regiment in the Western Theater and the Fifth's part in the Union struggles to contain Confederate guerrilla activity." - Jim Swan , author of Chicago's Irish Legion: The 90th Illinois Volunteers in the Civil War "A first-rate history of a Union cavalry regiment in the West that goes far beyond the standard narrative of miles marched and battles fought. Rhonda Kohl provides a richly detailed account of civilians in uniform beset by uncertain leadership and fractious political divisions amidst a sea of hostile Confederates. Few regimental histories have as much to say about the experiences of the men who served or say it as well."- William L. Shea , author of Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign "Rhonda Kohl offers a vivid sense of the daily lives of Union soldiers at war in Arkansas and Mississippi. We meet them not only as fighting men but as Republicans and Democrats, poachers and pilferers, grassroots emancipators and intramural infighters, loving husbands and disease-ridden invalids. The men of southern Illinois were known as "Egyptians," and the plagues they encountered in the Trans-Mississippi-whether pestilence, high water, insects, extreme heat and bitter cold, or guerrilla armies-were indeed worthy of the Egypt of Moses's day. Kohl shows us the real war, and it's not one anybody will ever want to reenact."- Patrick G. Williams , editor of Arkansas Historical Quarterly
