East Texas Historical Journal Volume 52 Issue 1 Article 1 3-2014 ETHJ Vol-52 No-1 Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ethj Part of the United States History Commons Tell us how this article helped you. Recommended Citation (2014) "ETHJ Vol-52 No-1," East Texas Historical Journal: Vol. 52 : Iss. 1 , Article 1. Available at: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/ethj/vol52/iss1/1 This Full Issue is brought to you for free and open access by the History at SFA ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in East Texas Historical Journal by an authorized editor of SFA ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Historical Journal EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIO - 'A 15 r Il/,? 2014-2015 OFFICERS'" '.~ /" ! N 2014 Gene Preuss President ,r... ~' Mary L. Scheer First Vice Presi ent .~ '~~l ''''''., ~ Kyle Wilkison Second Vice Pr ~nt .;.~! i!(J ~ r""" Christal Gill secretarY/Treasu~. ~~ ~ .r1~l~ !1[a~ DIRECTORS Portia Gordon Nacogdoches 2014 Heather Green Wooten Kemah 2014 Doug Kubichek Hallettsville 2014 John Storey Beaumont 2015 Cecilia Gutierrez-Venable El Paso 2015 Patrick Cox Austin 2015 Gwendolyn Lawe Dallas 2016 Mary Jo O'Rear Corpus Christi 2016 Betty Oglesbee San Augustine 2016 Cynthia Beeman Georgetown Past President Bruce Glasrud San Antonio Past President Cissy Lale Ft.Worth Life Director EDITORIAL BOARD Jere Jackson Nacogdoches Gary Pinkerton Silsbee Jeff Guinn Ft. Worth Paul Sandul Nacogdoches John Caraway Clyde Gwen Lawe Dallas Leland Turner Wichita Falls EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS pay $100 annually LIFE MEMBERS pay $400 or more PATRONS pay $85 annually BENEFACTORS pay $60 annually FAMILY MEMBERS pay $45 annually REGULAR MEMBERS pay $35 annually STUDENT MEMBERS pay $15 annually Journals $7.50 per copy Address: P. O. Box 6223 Stephen F. Austin State University Nacogdoches, TX 75962-6223 936-468-2407 [email protected] EAST TEXAS HISTORICAL JOURNAL HISTORICAL ASSOOAnON www.easttexashistorical.org EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND EDITOR M. Scott Sosebee VOLUME 52 . NUMBER 1 Spring 2014 Copyright © 2014 by the East Texas Historical Association. All rights reserved. Reproduction, whether in whole or part without permission is strictly prohibited. Vol. LII Spring 2014 Number 1 The East Texas Historical Journal is ,published bianuaIly by Stephen F. Austin State University Press. Address correspondences, unsolicited material, and membership queries to The East Texas Historical Association, Scott Sosebee Executive Director and Editor, P. O. Box 6223, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX 75962. Telephone: 936-468-2407; e-mail: [email protected]; Web: http://www. easttexashistorical.org. Manuscripts are read year-round and will not be returned unless accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. CoverArt: ETRC Designed by: Andrea Laham Printed in United States of America Stephen F. Austin State University Press Stephen F. Austin State University Box 13007 SFA Station Nacogdoches, Texas 75962-3007 936-468-1078 [email protected] sfasu.edu/sfapress BOOKS REVIEWED Foley, Missionary Bishop-Jean-Marie-Odin in Galveston & New Orleans, reviewed by Donald Willett Glasrud and Weiss, Jr., Editors, Tracking the Texas Rangers, The Nineteenth Century, reviewed by Bill O'Neal Ball, They Called Them Soldier Boys-A Texas Infantry Regiment in World War I, reviewed by Brandon Jett O'Brien and Ensminger, Mojo Hand: The Life and Music ofLightnin' Hopkins, reviewed by Anne Jordan McCaslin, Chipman, and Torget, Editors, This Corner ofCanaan­ Essays on Texas in Honor ofRandolph B. Campbell, reviewed by Charles Swanlund CONTENTS IN MEMORIUM: JAMES SMALLWOOD ~ 7 Kenneth Howell "SO LOST TO HONOR;" THE MASS DESERTION OF THE CAMP FORD GUARD - JULY 20, 1864 ~ 15 Vicki Betts FROM SLAVE OWNER TO SCALAWAG: THE LIFE OF LEROY W. COOPER ~ 35 Cameron Sinclair MIRABEAU B. LAMAR: POET, PRESIDENT, AND A NAMESAKE FOR A UNIVERSITY ~ 51 Mary L. Scheer "RODE OUT OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS A HERETIC;" THE POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION OF SAM HOUSTON AND THE SOUTHERN WHIG LEGACY ~ 64 Miles Smith L.Q. JONES: A TALENTED TEXAS TREASURE ~ 84 Bill O'Neal ANTI-BLACK VIOLENCE IN 20TH CENTURY EAST TEXAS ~ 87 Bruce Glasrud BOOK REVIEWS ~ 100 7 In Memorium: James Milton Smallwood By Kenneth Howell James M. Smallwood, Professor Emeritus of History at Oklahoma State University, died November 25, 2013, at his home in Gainesville, Texas. He was 69. In 1965, Kenneth Stampp wrote in the introduction to his The Era of Reconstruction, 1865-1877 that '1\ half century ago, most historians were extremely critical ofthe reconstruction measures that congressional Republicans forced upon the defeated South. They used terms such as 'military despotism: 'federal tyranny: 'Negro rule: and 1\fricanization' to describe what white Southerners were forced to endure.... Yet, during the past generation, historians have written numerous books and articles which demonstrate that many ofthe popular notions about the era of reconstruction are distorted or untrue." James M. Smallwood was among those early revisionist scholars who labored to correct the historical record ofthe Reconstruction era. Focusing primarily on African American experiences in post-Civil War Texas, Smallwood's most enduring contribution to Reconstruction historiography was his Time of Hope, Time ofDespair: Black Texans during Reconstruction, published in 1981. This work was instrumental in highlighting African Americans struggles and achievements during the Reconstruction years. The Texas State Historical Association recognized the importance ofthis work by awarding it the prestigious Coral H. Tullis Award in 1982 for best book of the year on Texas history. 9 Volume 52 Later in his career, Smallwood published three books that focused on Reconstruction violence in Texas. Published in 2003, Murder and Mayhem: The War of Reconstruction in Texas, written with co-authors Barry A. Crouch and Larry Peacock, placed the infamous Lee-Peacock feud in the historical context ofa continued Civil War in Northeast Texas. This work revealed that the terrorist groups preying on blacks and their white allies in North Texas were able to operate in the shadows of the South's Lost Cause. In 2007, Smallwood with co-authors Kenneth Howell and Carol Taylor published The Devil's Triangle: Ben Bickerstaff, Northeast Texans, and the War of Reconstruction in Texas. Smallwood and his co-authors were able to expand upon the ideas first presented in Murder and Mayhem by focusing on the terrorist groups associated with Ben Bickerstaff, the notorious Texas outlaw responsible for the death of numerous African Americans, Republican sympathizers, and federal troops stationed in the northern part ofthe state. Both books have led to new interpretations of Reconstruction violence in Texas and a better understanding ofthe plight ofblacks and whites who supported the federal government's attempt to bring social and political change to the Lone Star State. Finally, in 2008, Smallwood published The Feud That Wasn't: The Taylor Ring, Bill Sutton, John Wesley Hardin, and Violence in Texas. This work placed the so-called Taylor-Sutton feud in the context ofthe Reconstruction era, concluding that the same patterns of violence found in the northern part ofthe state were also present in South Texas. The importance ofthis work was evident in the accolades that it garnered, including the East Texas Historical Associations Otis Lock Award for the Best Book ofthe Year (2008), the Texas Institute ofLetter's Best Scholarly Book Award (2008), and the Texas State Historical Association's Coral H. Tullis Award (2008). Smallwood remains the only scholar to win the Coral H. Tullis Award twice in the 45-year history ofthe award. In 2008, he was also inducted as a member into the Texas Institute of Letters. Aside from his these books, Smallwood wrote numerous articles and delivered a multitude oflectures on the Reconstruction era, focusing primarily on African American experiences and violence in Texas during these tumultuous years. In addition to his work on Reconstruction Texas and African American history, Smallwood published on a broad range oftopics related to United States history. During his early years at Oklahoma State University, he authored or edited more than ten volumes on Oklahoma history, 10 Spring 2014 including several publications on the famous humorist Will Rogers. Additionally, Smallwood wrote several local and county histories, including his highly acclaimed two volume study ofSmith County titled Born in Dixie: The history ofSmith County, Texas (1999). Born in Dixie continues to set the standard for the way county histories should be written. He was also a contributor to the Texas history textbook, Beyond Myth and Legends: A Narrative History ofTexas (2008). Moreover, Smallwood published books and articles on Native Americans in Texas, FDR's New Deal program, Lyndon B. Johnson political career, and a full-length biography ofVirginia Durr, a noted twentieth-century liberal reformer from Alabama. In sum, Smallwood leaves behind an impressive array ofpublication that will continue to influence students ofAmerican and Texas history for many decades to come. James Milton Smallwood was born on July 10,1944, in Terrell, Texas. His formative years were spent in Terrell, where he became a local sports legend, excelling in football and baseball. After leaving Terrell High School, Smallwood attended Henderson County Community College (now known as Trinity Valley Community College),