This is the story of 3,000 stalwart Texans, who carried the Confederate banner into the deserts and mountains of the Southwest. They were a zealous and determined army of committed volunteers marching off to war at a time when anything seemed possible. Their untried general, Henry Hopkins Sibley, led the advance towards Arizona and New Mexico, and even envisioned the banner of their new nation flying above the waters of the Pacific! Relying heavily on diaries, memoirs, and other first person accounts, personalities, emotions, and narrative are pushed to the forefront. Often told in participants' own words, the story is a day-to-day account of the adventures of ordinary men living through extraordinary times. The focus of much of the book is Captain Adair of the 7th Texas Mounted Volunteers. Captain Adair epitomizes the hardy Texas pioneer, with a family history of life on the frontier and a personal stake in the issue of slavery. The chain of events that carried Captain Adair to his destiny and led to the clash of two small but rugged frontier armies, remains one of the most stirring and least known episodes of our nation's struggle. Numerous vintage photographs, several maps, a bibliography and an index enhance this extensive work. This book is a MUST for anyone interested in the Civil War or the Southwest.