Newtonia

My book on the two battles at Newtonia was recently released by History Press as part of the publisher's Civil War Sequicentennial Series. In an overall view of the Civil War, neither battle at Newtonia was particularly significant (although some people seem to want to try to make both of them more important than they actually were by overestimating the number of casualties, etc.) Still, they were certainly significant for the soldiers who participated in them and for other people (such as civilians who lived in Newtonia) who were directly affected, and each battle does have its distinguishing characteristics. For instance, the First Battle of Newtonia is one of the few conflicts of the Civil War that involved large-scale American Indian involvement on both sides. The second battle did not have such an unusual distinguishing characteristic, did not involve nearly as many soldiers as the first one, and did not last as long. However, it is remembered as the last significant fight of the Civil War in Missouri, and largely for that reason, therefore, it, too, is considered important. The Newtonia Battlefields Protection Association will be holding an open house at the Ritchey Mansion on Sunday afternoon, June 27, at two p.m., and they'll be hosting a book signing for me at the same time in conjunction with the open house.