Bloody Ozarks: A History of the Civil War Years in Northwest Arkansas

In Bloody Ozarks , G.W. Johnson digs down to the roots of Arkansas history and unearths a journal of heartrending images and tales of pioneer families who settled the land and spent the Civil War defending it. The Johnsons, Sizemores, Casselmans, and McChristians-all Union sympathizers-dominate the book's landscape, but the author also keeps a watchful eye on the bloody conflict's global aspects, reminding the reader that both sides met their share of suffering and sacrifice for causes they each believed in. Johnson blends family histories, both oral and written, with documented histories of soldiers, commanders, and the cities and towns that hosted hospitals, battles, and internal disagreements. With neighbor against neighbor and brother against brother, the Ozarks region was one of the most divided in the country. By 1863, law and order had vanished, while bands of Confederate bushwhackers inflicted misery upon the Union loyalists. By the war's end, two-thirds of Washington County, Arkansas, had been murdered, starved to death, or had fled the armies and the violent guerillas. These are real stories that, paired with photos of soldiers, battlefields, gravestones, and other landmarks, bring the tragedy and suffering of the Bloody Ozarks close to home in a way that is both profound and compelling.