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The Three-Cornered War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West Audiobook
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A dramatic, riveting, and deeply researched narrative account of the epic struggle for the West during the Civil War, revealing a little-known, vastly important episode in American history.
In The Three-Cornered War Megan Kate Nelson reveals the fascinating history of the Civil War in the American West. Exploring the connections among the Civil War, the Indian wars, and western expansion, Nelson reframes the era as one of national conflict—involving not just the North and South, but also the West.
Against the backdrop of this larger series of battles, Nelson introduces nine individuals: John R. Baylor, a Texas legislator who established the Confederate Territory of Arizona; Louisa Hawkins Canby, a Union Army wife who nursed Confederate soldiers back to health in Santa Fe; James Carleton, a professional soldier who engineered campaigns against Navajos and Apaches; Kit Carson, a famous frontiersman who led a regiment of volunteers against the Texans, Navajos, Kiowas, and Comanches; Juanita, a Navajo weaver who resisted Union campaigns against her people; Bill Davidson, a soldier who fought in all of the Confederacy’s major battles in New Mexico; Alonzo Ickis, an Iowa-born gold miner who fought on the side of the Union; John Clark, a friend of Abraham Lincoln’s who embraced the Republican vision for the West as New Mexico’s surveyor-general; and Mangas Coloradas, a revered Chiricahua Apache chief who worked to expand Apache territory in Arizona.
As we learn how these nine charismatic individuals fought for self-determination and control of the region, we also see the importance of individual actions in the midst of a larger military conflict. The Three-Cornered War is a captivating history—based on letters and diaries, military records and oral histories, and photographs and maps from the time—that sheds light on a forgotten chapter of American history.
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“Nelson vividly portrays a complex struggle between peoples and armies—Navajo, Apache, Confederate, and Federal—over the mountains and deserts of the Southwest.”
— T. J. Stiles, Pulitzer Prize–winning author
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“Subtly argued and richly documented.”
— Civil War Times -
“Sheds light on New Mexico’s importance during the war.”
— Albuquerque Journal -
“An invaluable contribution to broadening our understanding of the Civil War in her riveting new book.”
— Los Angeles Review of Books -
“Based on extensive archival research, Nelson’s work expands our understanding of how the Civil War affected Indigenous peoples…[a] nuanced portrait of the era.”
— Library Journal (starred review) -
“Megan Kate Nelson’s beautifully written account tells this important story.”
— James M. McPherson, New York Times bestselling author -
“The Three-Cornered War brings [the] battle between peoples, armies, agendas, and the environment to living breathing life.”
— Joanne B. Freeman, author of The Field of Blood
Awards
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Finalist for the 2021 Reading the West Book Award
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A Newsweek Pick of Best Nonfiction Books of Spring
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About Megan Kate Nelson
Megan Kate Nelson is a writer and historian living in Lincoln, Massachusetts. She has written about the Civil War, US western history, and American culture for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Smithsonian magazine, Preservation magazine, and Civil War Monitor. Nelson earned her BA in history and literature from Harvard University and her PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa, and she has taught at Texas Tech University, Cal State Fullerton, Harvard, and Brown.
About Cynthia Farrell
Cynthia Farrell, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a singer and voice actor best known for her roll as Catalina in the video games Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. She has also performed off Broadway and has released a number of records.