The Confederates of Chappell Hill, Texas: Prosperity, Civil War, and Decline.

The Confederates of Chappell Hill, Texas: Prosperity, Civil War, and Decline. By Stephen Chicoine. (Jefferson, N.C., and London: McFarland and Company, Inc., c. 2005. Pp. viii, 260. $45.00, ISBN 0-7864-1982-2.)

Stephen Chicoine draws upon a wealth of primary sources from the local archives and the historical society of Chappell Hill, Texas, to provide a personal account of this significant town's contribution in the American Civil War. In doing so, the author attempts to place Chappell Hill in the larger context of Texas in the war and the southern experience of prosperity, war, and decline. The bulk of the monograph traces the experience of men from Chappell Hill through a synopsis of the minor and major battles. In doing so, Chicoine touches on several interesting topics and does an excellent job of discussing the prison-of-war experiences of Confederate soldiers. Through personal accounts he discloses the hazards of prison life and the harsh conditions in which men suffered brutal treatment and malnourishment and literally froze to death. In all, we find that men from Chappell Hill served throughout the Confederacy in several capacities, experiencing the full effect of war.

With the close of war and the homecoming experience, the author reveals the difficulties that men encountered while traveling back to Texas. Once home, these men faced starvation, possible indictment for their wartime activities, loss of loved ones, loss of land and business, and no employment--a reflection of the Texas and southern experience, from the author's perspective.

When it comes to the decline of Chappell Hill, however, Chicoine argues that the yellow fever epidemic of 1867, not the consequences of war, ravaged the town. Chicoine reveals, in one of his better and more enlightening chapters, that the epidemic held no respect for class and that even in this crisis, Chappell Hill residents played roles beyond their community. For example, President Rutherford B. Hayes appointed Richard M. Swearingen, a civil war veteran, to a commission of experts (to investigate yellow fever) that eventually established the National Board of Health. Nevertheless, Chappell Hill was hard hit by the 1867 epidemic and became known as an unhealthy place to live, the most significant factor in the town's decline.

Despite the author's neglect to consult the leading secondary sources on many topics, he has done excellent primary-source research in dissecting one town's contribution to the war effort. Chicoine's monograph on Chappell Hill, Texas, which he portrays as a microcosm of the Confederacy, allows the reader to understand the real experience and impact of war from a personal and local perspective, a work that will interest Texas historians and general Civil War enthusiasts.

CLAYTON JEWETT

Austin Community College