Shelby and His Men

Shelby and His Men, or the War in the West, originally published in 1867, chronicles the exploits of Major General Joseph O. Shelby during the Civil War. Written by Major John Newman Edwards, Shelby’s adjutant, the work is an early example of Lost Cause revisionist history, with the author claiming in the first chapter that the work would chronicle “the unfortunate Confederates who staked all, and lost all, in a superhuman struggle against fate and superior numbers.”

Born in Virginia on January 4, 1839, John Newman Edwards appeared in the 1850 federal census in Warren County. He lived with his widowed mother and her mother, as well as three siblings. By the mid-1850s, Edwards had moved to Missouri and was working in the newspaper business. He met Joseph Shelby during this period.

Shelby organized a cavalry company and led the unit in early actions, including the Battles of Wilson’s Creek and Pea Ridge. Moving with the bulk of the Confederate army east of the Mississippi River, he returned to the Trans-Mississippi and received a promotion to colonel. Commanding a brigade of Missouri Cavalry known as the Iron Brigade, Shelby ably led his command throughout the war. Edwards joined the staff of the unit and received a commission as a major. He wrote the after-action reports for Shelby and handled regular correspondence. The Missouri Secretary of State’s Office lists Edwards as a colonel as well as a major.

The work is arranged chronologically and opens with a chapter exploring the background of the war, as well as early efforts by both sides in Missouri to mobilize for the fight. Divided into twenty-nine chapters, plus an appendix, the work describes in detail each of the movements and actions in which the brigade participated. Edwards included several important events that occurred in Arkansas, including descriptions of the Battles of Pea Ridge, Cane Hill, and Helena, as well as the Camden Expedition and the capture of the USS Queen City. Edwards was not present at all the actions included in the work and embellished the actions that actually occurred. An example is the mention of angry bees at skirmishes near Okolona (Clark County) during the Camden Expedition. As the bees were not mentioned in any other sources, including those written immediately after the battle, it is likely that they were an embellishment.

At the conclusion of the war, Shelby, Edwards, and about 1,000 men of the brigade crossed into Mexico to avoid Federal troops and join the forces of Emperor Maximilian, although their efforts to create a colony for former Confederates proved to be unsuccessful. It was during this period that Edwards completed Shelby and His Men and submitted it for publication. Published by the Miami Publishing and Printing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio, the work was reprinted in 1897 and 1993. It is now in the public domain.

Returning to the United States the same year that the work appeared, Edwards worked as a journalist before founding the Kansas City Times. As the editor, Edwards wrote editorials calling for a full restoration of the political rights of former Confederates. He also published correspondence with Jesse James, helping create the myth that the notorious outlaw and his brother were waging a war against the government rather than simply robbing banks and other institutions.

He was not able to obtain a pardon for the James brothers, and upon the death of Jesse in 1882, Edwards wrote his obituary for the paper. Edwards died of complications from alcoholism on May 4, 1889, and is buried in Dover, Missouri.

As it was written from a Southern viewpoint, Shelby and His Men is a useful resource for researchers who understand the biases of the author. It remains an important work that chronicles the war in Arkansas but must be used in concert with other sources.

For additional information:
Edwards, John N. Shelby and His Men or the War in the West. Cincinnati, OH: Miami Publishing and Printing Company, 1867. Online at https://archive.org/details/shelbyandhismen01edwagoog (accessed February 6, 2025).

Hulbert, Matthew Christopher. “Constructing Guerrilla Memory: John Newman Edwards and Missouri’s Irregular Lost Cause.” Journal of the Civil War Era 2, no. 1 (March 2012): 58–81.

Trout, Carlynn, and Elizabeth E. Engel. “John Newman Edwards.” State Historical Society of Missouri. https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/john-newman-edwards/ (accessed February 6, 2025).

David Sesser
Southeastern Louisiana University