Eighteen sixty-three was a pivotal year for Arkansas during the Civil War, when some major battles were fought to bring Arkansas back into the Union. Two major battles had already occurred, at Pea Ridge and at Prairie Grove in northwest Arkansas in 1862.

Mark K. Christ tells the story in long, engrossing chapters of the battles that eventually led to the capture of Little Rock, the capital, and the beginning of the end of the Confederacy in Arkansas and the Indian Territory before that.

Christ utilizes primary sources including diaries and official reports, and illustrations, maps and a bibliography fill out the extra materials. This well-written book is an important addition to Civil War history of Arkansas and Indian Territory (later Oklahoma) and is highly recommended to those interested in the Civil War in Arkansas and Oklahoma.