How the West was Won--and Lost--during the American Civil War

FAIN: FZ-256405-17

Megan Kate Nelson
Unaffiliated independent scholar

A book on the Civil War in the American Southwest, including its impact on settlers, Native Americans, and the environment.

Path of the Dead Man tells the little-known story of the American Civil War in the Southwest through the experiences of nine individuals: three Union soldiers, two Confederate soldiers, two Native Americans, and two Anglo civilians. It argues that the Confederate loss of the West hurt their chances to win the war in the East. Once the Union Army regained control of the region, Republicans passed a series of acts to “settle” the West, to fill it with free laborers. To achieve this vision the Union Army also had to exterminate or remove the West’s Native Americans. Thus, their campaigns against Navajos and Apaches were vital to the Republican political project. The Union succeeded in these efforts due the army’s ability to control the Southwest’s natural resources. Path of the Dead Man reconfigures three of America's epic narratives (the Civil War, the Indian wars, and westward expansion) and will appeal to general and academic readers.

Associated Products

"Bosque Redondo" (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: "Bosque Redondo"
Author: Megan Kate Nelson
Abstract: This short talk, as part of a roundtable on Native Americans in the Civil War, presented the many phases of Bosque Redondo - from cattle corral to location of Fort Sumner to Navajo and Mescalero reservation to "Hwéeldi" (The land of suffering) to abandoned ruin to public history site. The environmental and human histories of Bosque Redondo illuminate a little-known era of violent conquest in American Civil War history.
Date: 10/19/2018
Conference Name: Western History Association

The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West (Book)
Title: The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West
Author: Megan Kate Nelson
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=1501152548
Primary URL Description: WorldCat entry (1501152548)
Publisher: Scribner
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 1501152548

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