CIVIL WAR IN THE OZARKS BY Phillip W. Steele and Steve Cottrell 5.5" x 8.25", 136 page trade paperback, Pelican Publishing Company, ISBN # 0-88289-988-0, Fifth Printing, November 2000 Many people may not realize that the Ozarks were a volatile region during the Civil War, but according to The New York Times, the Battle of Carthage was "the first serious conflict between the United States troops and the rebels." In writing Civil War in the Ozarks, the late Phillip W. Steele and Steve Cottrell extensively researched the battles on the western front that took place between 1861 and 1865. They looked at the heroes, outlaws, and peacemakers who influenced the role the Ozarks played in the war between the states. Both are noted researchers on Civil War and Ozarks history from Arkansas and Missouri. In the Ozarks, skirmishes between the abolitionist Kansas Jayhawkers and slaveholders in Arkansas and Missouri had begun years before Fort Sumter was fired upon. The neutral citizens of Missouri, who later joined in the fight for reasons of self-defense or vengeance, were often caught in the crossfire of raids between the two groups. Relocated Indian tribes of present-day Oklahoma-the Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek-were part of the violence. Some joined the Union or Confederate armies, while others acted as frontier renegades against western expansion. The great divisions of the Ozark people were as extensive as those of the whole country. The factions and fighting made the Ozarks one of the bloodiest regions during the Civil War. The book is complete and in FINE condition with some overall light wear and a price sticker on the front cover.