Tejanos in Gray: Civil War Letters of Captains Joseph Rafael de la Garza and Manuel Yturri (Volume 9) (Fronteras Series, sponsored by Texas A&M International University)

While this is a compilation of letters of these two officers from San Antonio, it clearly shows that these soldiers were just that, soldiers, and had their own reasons for fighting in the Civil War. Both men demonstrate the common pain of all soldiers deployed, homesickness and being away from their loved ones. This is a good read, however, it does not go into the actual battles they fought in. It shows their duties as soldiers, while still trying to manage their families back home.

Interesting personal letters of elite Tejanos. Mostly about mundane matters. But interesting.

I like the format. Information was not what I expected.

Historical research about Tejano Native American ancestors.

Amazing read. Was introduced to this book while taking Dr. Thompson's military history course. Gives valuable insight to my own family's extended history and light to what is generally seen as a polarized conflict.

Joseph Garza and Manuel Yturri, both from San Antonio, were educated men from the upper class who served as officers for the CSA, both enlisting in spring 1862. Garza, joined the 6th Texas Infantry, and was killed in what seems to have been his first battle against the Union forces, at Mansfield LA in April 1864. Yturri, joined Duff's Partisan Rangers, later the 33rd TX Infantry, and his only apparent battle was at Jenkins Ferry AR, also in April 1864. Yturri survived the war and his descendents contributed material to this book.The editor does a nice job of providing context to the fellow soldiers, relatives, friends and townspeople mentioned in the letters. One thing that really comes across is the cultural "melting pot" of 1850s San Antonio. Mexican, Anglo-American, and German residents intermingle with the occasional Italian, French Canadian or Scot, and of course, the Africans they own.There are only about fifty letters total, and they don't provide a lot information on the military activities of the two men, or their political views. There are large gaps in between letters, and very few are from 1862 or 1863. I felt the editor could have filled in some of these gaps with material from other sources (the OR, newspapers, letters from soldiers in the same units). He gives a little bit of information about the Partisan Rangers, who took on the job the US military had done up to 1860, that is guarding the frontier against Commanche and Mexican raids, with the added jobs of enforcing the draft, rounding up deserters, suppressing Unionists, and guarding the Gulf Coast. I also think the editor should provide greater context to the military actions.Other Kindle books allow you to click on the footnote number to get to the footnote, and then the back key to return to the text. For some reason, that function was not available in this book. And since most of the information is in the footnotes, you really need to have them easily accessible.

Actual letters by Texans of Mexican descent document their experiences in the Civil War. This is an important work of those who have not been heard from in the past.