Texas Rangers had patrolled on horseback since the early days of the Republic. Texas military heritage, born in a revolution from Mexico in the 1830s and maturing in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, shaped all who lived there. Now, years later, a handful of these veterans and a generation raised in this heritage would make a colorful and heroic contribution to the Civil War as unique and independent "horse soldiers." This is the picturesque story of their battles and skirmishes where the often outnumbered cavalry, through bravado or sheer madness, frequently helped turn the tide of battle . . . from Colonel Parsons' assault on the Federal Navy during the Red River Campaign of 1864 to Terry's Texas Rangers with General Wheeler's horsemen tirelessly badgering Sherman on his "March to the Sea," it's all here. A lively and picturesque narration by a respected historian.