Address: Department of History Contact: Office (940) 369-8182
Richard B. McCaslin
Address: Department of History Contact: office (940) 369-8182
1155 Union Circle #310650 home (940) 323-8697
University of North Texas cell (940) 300-2325
Denton, TX 76203
Education:
Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 1988
Dissertation: "Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas"
M.A., Louisiana State University, 1983
Thesis: "The Mexican Revolution, 1914-1915: Cardoso de Oliviera and the
Protection of American Interests"
B.A., Delta State University, 1982
Academic Employment:
TSHA Professor of Texas History, University of North Texas (2016- )
Professor and Department Chair, University of North Texas (2008-16)
Associate Professor to Professor, University of North Texas (2004-07)
Visiting Professor, Hawaii Pacific University (2003-10)
Assistant Professor to Professor, High Point University (1990-2004)
Instructor, Roane State Community College (1989)
Adjunct Professor, Corpus Christi State University (1989)
Instructor, Pellissippi State Community College (1988-89)
Research Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville (1988-90)
Teaching Assistant and Research Associate, University of Texas, Austin (1984-87)
Teaching Assistant, Louisiana State University (1982-83)
Books:
Author
A Distant Thunder: The Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi(University of Nebraska, forthcoming).
Embattled Republic: Texas Fights for Independence, 1835-45 (Oneworld Publications, forthcoming).
Sutherland Springs, Texas: Saratoga on the Cibolo (University of North Texas, 2017).
Washington-on-the-Brazos: Cradle of the Texas Republic (Texas State Historical
Association, 2016).
Fighting Stock: John S. "Rip" Ford of Texas (Texas Christian University, 2011).
*Pate Award, Fort Worth Civil War Round Table
*Bates Award, Texas State Historical Association
At the Heart of Texas: One Hundred Years of the Texas State Historical Association, 1897-1997 (Texas State Historical Association, 2007).
*Award of Merit, Texas Philosophical Society
Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of Tennessee in the Civil War (University
of Arkansas, 2007).
*Douglas Southall Freeman Award, Military Order of Stars and Bars
The Last Stronghold: The Campaign for Fort Fisher (Grady McWhiney Research
Foundation, 2003).
Lee in the Shadow of Washington (Louisiana State University, 2001).
*Slatten Award, Virginia Historical Society
*Laney Prize, Austin Civil War Round Table
*Nominated for Pulitzer in Biography
Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of North Carolina in the Civil War
(University of Arkansas, 1997).
Remembered Be Thy Blessings: High Point University--The College Years, 1924-1991
(High Point University, 1995).
Tainted Breeze: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas, October 1862 (Louisiana State
University, 1994 [paperback edition, 1997; electronic edition, 2000]).
*Tullis Award, Texas State Historical Association
*Certificate of Commendation, American Association for State and Local History
*Alternate Selection, History Book Club
Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of South Carolina in the Civil War
(University of Arkansas, 1994).
*Award of Merit for Series, American Association for State and Local History
Co-Author
Galveston’s Maceo Family Empire: Bootlegging & the Balinese Room (History Press,
2014). [w/Scott Belshaw, Nicole Boatman]
Commitment to Excellence: One Hundred Years of Engineering Education at The
University of Texas (Texas Engineering Foundation, 1986). [w/Earnest F. Gloyna]
Editor/Co-Editor/Compiler
This Corner of Canaan: Essays in Honor of Randolph B. Campbell (University of North
Texas, 2013). [w/Don Chipman and Andrew Torget]
A Soldier’s Letters to Charming Nellie: The Correspondence of Joseph B. Polley, Hood's Texas Brigade (University of Tennessee, 2008).
Andrew Johnson: A Bibliography (Greenwood Press, 1992).
Papers of Andrew Johnson, Volume 9 (University of Tennessee, 1991). [Associate Editor,
w/Paul Bergeron et al.]
Papers of Andrew Johnson, Volume 8 (University of Tennessee, 1989). [Assistant Editor,
w/Paul Bergeron et al.]
Articles:
“'A Curious War': Franklin A. G. Gearing in the Civil War,” East Texas Historical
Journal 53 (Fall 2015).
“Reflections on ‘Where Do We Stand,’ by Earl Hess,” Civil War History 60 (December 2014).
“United States Regulars in Gray: Edward Ingraham and Company A, 1st Confederate
Regular Cavalry,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 118 (July 2014).
“Rip Ford: Confederate or Texan?” Military History of the West 42 (2012).
“Who was Charming Nellie: A Research Note,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly 113
(April 2010).
"In the Shadow of Washington: Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy," North and South 4
(April 2001).
"Dark Corner of the Confederacy: James G. Bourland and the Border Regiment,"
Military History of the West 24 (Spring 1994).
"Wheat Growers in the Cotton Confederacy: The Suppression of Dissent in Collin
County, Texas, During the Civil War," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 96
(April 1993).
"Steadfast in his Intent: John W. Hargis and the Integration of the University of Texas at Austin," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 95 (July 1991).
"Voices of Reason: Opposition to Secession in Angelina County, Texas," Locus 3
(Spring 1991).
"Conditional Confederates: The Eleventh Texas Cavalry West of the Mississippi River,"
Military History of the Southwest 21 (Spring 1991).
"Reconstructing a Frontier Oligarchy: Andrew Johnson's Amnesty Proclamation and
Arkansas," Arkansas Historical Quarterly 49 (Winter 1990).
Chapters:
“A Texas Reign of Terror: Anti-Unionist Violence in North Texas,” Lone Star Unionism,
Dissent, and Resistance: The Other Civil-War Texas, ed. J. Frank De la Teja (University of Oklahoma, 2016).
"Bitter Legacy: Military Operations in the Indian Territory during the Civil War," The Indian Territory in the Civil War, ed. Brad Clampitt (University of Oklahoma, 2015).
"Defending the Lone Star," Discovering Texas History, eds. Bruce Glasrud, Light
Cummins, & Cary Wintz (University of Oklahoma, 2014).
"Texas Reconstruction in Popular Memory: What Really Happened in Hill County in 1871," This Corner of Canaan, eds. Richard B. McCaslin, Don Chipman, &
Andrew Torget (University of North Texas, 2013).
"Introduction," The Great Hanging at Gainesville, 1862 (Texas State Historical Association, 2012)
"Rangers, Rip Ford, and the Cortina War," Tracking the Texas Rangers, ed. Bruce Glasrud & Harold Weiss (University of North Texas, 2012).
“William Longworth, Republican Villain,” “Still the Arena of Civil War”: Violence and
Turmoil in Reconstruction Texas, 1865-1874, ed. Kenneth Howell (University of North Texas, 2012).
"Steadfast in His Intent: John W. Hargis and the Integration of the University of Texas at Austin," The Texas Book Two, ed. David Detmer (University of Texas, 2012).
"Foreword," The Boys of Diamond Hill: The Lives and Civil War Letters of the Boyd Family of Abbeville County, South Carolina, ed. Keith Jones (MacFarland, 2011).
"The Price of Liberty: The Great Hanging at Gainesville," The Fate of Texas: The Civil
War and the Lone Star State, ed. Charles Grear (University of Arkansas, 2008).
*Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2009
"In the Shadow of Washington: Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy," Robert E. Lee:
Commemorative Essays on the Bicentennial of His Birth (Stratford Hall, 2007).
"Foreword," Brush Men and Vigilantes: Civil War Dissent in Texas, by David Pickering
and Judy Fall (Texas A&M University, 2000).
The Texas Senate: Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889 (Texas A&M University, 1999).
The Texas Senate: Republic to the Civil War, 1836-1861 (Texas A&M University, 1991).
"Science and Technology in Texas Before World War II," 100 Years of Science and
Technology in Texas: A Sigma Xi Centennial Volume (Rice University, 1986).
Contributions:
Encyclopedia of North Carolina History (University of North Carolina, 2006).
Americans at War: Society, Culture, and the Homefront (Macmillan, 2004).
The New Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association, 1996).
Ready Reference: American Indians (Salem Press, 1995).
Book Reviews:
American Historical Review
Arkansas Historical Quarterly
Chronicles of Oklahoma
Civil War Book Review [online]
Civil War History
Civil War Regiments
East Texas Historical Journal
Georgia Historical Quarterly
Hispanic American Historical Review
H-List Civil War [online]
Journal of American History
Journal of East Tennessee History
Journal of Southern History
Journal of the Early Republic
Louisiana History
Military History of the West
New Mexico Historical Review
North Carolina Historical Review
Register of the Kentucky Historical Society
Reviews in American History
Society of Civil War Historians Newsletter
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Virginia Magazine of History and Biography
Western Historical Quarterly
Professional Papers:
“The Making of a Scalawag: Joseph Lancaster of Washington, Texas,” Texas State
Historical Association (Spring 2017).
“Pennsylvania Confederates: The Ingrahams in the Civil War,” Society for Military
History (Spring 2014).
“In Search of a Revolution: John S. ‘Rip’ Ford of Texas,” Consortium on the Revolutionary Era (Spring 2013).
"Robert E. Lee and the Bonapartes," Consortium on the Revolutionary Era (Spring 2012).
“Losing Their Birthright: The Navarro Brothers in the Civil War,” Texas State Historical
Association (Spring 2011).
“Rip Ford: Confederate or Texan?” Society for Military History (Spring 2009).
“Rip Ford: Confederate Commander on the Rio Grande,” Texas State Historical
Association (Spring 2007).
"Austin Colony Diaspora: Joseph H. Polley in Texas," East Texas Historical Association
(Spring 2005).
"The Mustang Grays: Sutherland Springs, Texas, in the Civil War," Southwestern
Historical Association (Spring 2005).
"Yankee Farmer to Texas Planter: The Transformation of Joseph H. Polley," Economic
and Business Historical Society (Spring 2005).
“The Last Lifeline: The Battles for Fort Fisher, December 1864-January 1865,”
Historical Society of North Carolina (Spring 2002).
"Academic Alchemy: The Texas State Historical Association," Texas State Historical
Association (Spring 2002).
"Child of the Revolution: Robert E. Lee and the Civil War," Society for Military History
(Spring 1997).
"The Devil is Unchained: James D. Young during the CivilWar," Texas State Historical
Association (Spring 1996).
"Portraits of Conflict: North Carolina in the Civil War," North Carolina Association of
Historians (Fall 1995).
"'And Forgotten Shall Be My Name:' Father Ryan, The Lost Cause, and Nativism in the New South," Southwestern Social Science Association (Spring 1993).
"Dark Corner of the Confederacy: James G. Bourland and the Border Regiment," Texas
State Historical Association (Spring 1993).
"Wheat Growers in the Cotton Confederacy: Collin County, Texas, During the Civil
War," Southern Historical Association (Fall 1991).
"Reshaping Arkansas Society: Andrew Johnson's Amnesty Proclamation and Arkansas,"
Conference on the Civil War, University of Arkansas (Spring 1990).
"Voices of Reason: The Secession Vote in Angelina County," Texas State Historical
Association (Spring 1990).
"Science and Technology in Texas before World War II," Rocky Mountain Division,
American Association for the Advancement of Science (Spring 1987).
"The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas, October 1862," Southwestern Social Science
Association (Spring 1986).
"The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas, October 1862," History Symposium, UT-
Austin (Fall 1985).
"The ABC-BUG Conference and Venustiano Carranza," History Symposium, UT-Austin
(Fall 1983).
"Cardoso de Oliviera in Mexico City," Symposium, ILASSA, UT-Austin (Spring 1983).
Professional Activities:
Consultant
Teaching American History Program, TCU/ UT-Arlington/Fort Worth ISD (2010-13)
*External evaluation, Project HOPE
Department of History, TAMU – Corpus Christi (2010)
*External evaluation
College Board (2010, 2013)
*Evaluation, AP Curriculum Modification
Texas State Historical Association (2000-03, 2009, 2017)
*Centennial History of Association [author]; Biographies of José Antonio
Navarro and José Francisco Ruiz [editor]
History Columnist, Greensboro News and Record (1993-94)
National Park Service (1989-90)
*Research on Navajo National Monument
Futurepast: A History Company (1987-89)
*Research on University of Idaho and Fort Davis, Texas
Lecturer
“Remembering Hood’s Texas Brigade: Pompeo Coppini and Confederate Memory,”
Fiftieth Anniversary Symposium, Hood’s Texas Brigade Association Re-Activated (Fall 2017)
“Forgotten Fire-eaters: Texas in the Civil War,” Region XIII Discovering Texas History
Conference, Texas State Historical Association (Fall 2017)
“The Texas Revolution,” Humanities Texas Summer Institute (2017)
“The Dixie Blues: Washington-on-the-Brazos in the Civil War,” Symposium: The Faces
of Hood's Texan Brigade, Hood's Texas Brigade Association Reactivated (Fall 2016)
“Texas in the Civil War,” Region X Energizing Texas History Conference, Texas State
Historical Association (Fall 2016)
"Fighting for Time: The Texas Brigade at Petersburg," Symposium: Hood's Texans in 1864-1865, Hood's Texas Brigade Association Reactivated (Fall 2015)
“Frederic S. Remington and the Buffalo Soldiers,” Educational Series, Sid Richardson
Museum (Fall 2015)
"Robert E. Lee and Hood's Brigade in the Wilderness, May 1864," Symposium: Hood's Texans in 1864, Hood's Texas Brigade Association Reactivated (Fall 2014)
“Texas During the Civil War,” Discovering Texas History Conference, Texas State
Historical Association (Fall 2014)
“The Texas Revolution in 1835,” Humanities Texas Teachers Workshop (Fall 2014)
“Andrew Johnson and the Radicals,” Humanities Texas Summer Institute (2014)
“A Texas Reign of Terror: Anti-Unionist Violence in North Texas,” Symposium:
Unionism in Civil War Texas, Texas State University (Spring 2014)
“A Gallant and Desperate Charge: The 19th Texas Infantry in Louisiana,” Symposium:
Defending the Homeland, LSU-Shreveport (Spring 2014)
“Inside the TEKS: Notable Texans in the Civil War,” Region X Energizing TexasHistory Conference, Texas State Historical Association (Fall 2013)
"Lawrence Sullivan 'Sul' Ross: Texas Ranger, General, Governor, and Educator," Teaching of History Conference, University of North Texas (Fall 2013)
"I Alone Am to Blame: Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg," Symposium on Civil War, Pearce Museum at Navarro College, Corsicana, TX (Summer 2013)
"Texas Shrine: Alamo History and Myths," Association for Moral Education (Fall 2012)
"So Many Leaders Dead or Gone: Rapid & Dramatic Changes in Hood's Texas Brigade Leadership," Symposium: Hood's Texas Brigade in 1862, Hood’s Texas Brigade Association Reactivated (Fall 2012)
"Texans in the Civil War," Symposium: Civil War in Texas, Texas General Land Office Preservation and Education Program (Fall 2012)
"Border Confederate: John S. 'Rip' Ford of Texas," Fall Civil War Symposium, Decatur (IL) Civil War Round Table (2012)
Keynote Address, Texas Council for Social Studies Conference (Fall 2012)
In-Service Workshop, Plano (TX) Independent School District (Summer 2012)
Initiation Address, Phi Alpha Theta, Texas A&M University, Commerce (Spring 2012)
"Texas in the Civil War," Region VI Energizing Texas History Conference, Texas State
Historical Association (Spring 2012)
In-Service Workshop, Plano (TX) Independent School District (Spring 2012)
“Secession or Revolution? Texas Leaves the Union,” Symposium: Texas in the War-- First Year, Hood’s Texas Brigade Association Reactivated (Fall 2011)
"Texas in the Civil War," Region X Energizing Texas History Conference, Texas State
Historical Association (Fall 2011)
Keynote Address, Symposium on the Civil War in Texas: Changing Interpretations after 150 Years, Victoria College, Victoria, TX (Fall 2011)
“Texas in the Civil War,” Humanities Texas Teachers Workshop (Fall 2011)
“Forgotten Father: Haden Edwards and the Fredonian Rebellion,” Teaching of History Conference, University of North Texas (Fall 2011)
“Border Conflict: Rip Ford and Confederate Nationalism in Texas,” Military History
Symposium, Central Texas College, Killeen, TX (Summer 2011)
"Building a Monument to Hood's Texas Brigade," Symposium: Monuments & Memory,
Hood's Texas Brigade Association Reactivated (Fall 2010)
“Collectors Challenge from the Dark Corner of the Confederacy: The Great Hanging at Gainesville, Texas,” Texas State Historical Association (Spring 2009)
“J. B. Polley’s Civil War,” Symposium: Texas in the War, 1861-1865, Hood’s Texas
Brigade Association Reactivated (Fall 2008)
In-Service Workshop, Denton (TX) Independent School District (Fall 2008)
“Texas and Secession,” Humanities Texas Summer Institute (2008)
Initiation Address, Phi Alpha Theta, University of North Texas (Spring 2008)
“Cattle in Texas,” Teaching of History Conference, University of North Texas (Fall 2007)
"A Bittersweet Coming of Age: Robert E. Lee in the Mexican War," Robert E.
Lee Bicentennial Series, Stratford Hall, VA (Summer 2007)
In-Service Workshop, Plano (TX) Independent School District (August 2007)
“Robert E. Lee and George Washington,” Melinda Smith Lecture Series, Mount Vernon,
VA (Spring 2007)
"Texas Chronicler: Joseph B. Polley and Hood’s Texas Brigade," Confederate History
Symposium, Hill College, Hillsboro, TX (Spring 2007)
“American Military History, 1607-1812,” Teaching American History Program,
University of North Texas/Denton Independent School District (2006, 2007)
"Joseph B. Polley and the Mustang Grays: Hood's Texas Brigade in the Civil War," Fall
Symposium, Decatur (IL) Civil War Round Table (2006)
"Robert E. Lee in the United States Army," Confederate History Symposium, Hill
College, Hillsboro, TX (Spring 2006)
Initiation Address, Phi Alpha Theta, LSU-Shreveport (Spring 2006)
"Lee in the Shadow of Washington," Robert E. Lee Educational Series, Stratford Hall,
VA (Winter 2006)
“The Last Stronghold: The Campaign for Fort Fisher,” NEH Lecture Series, Hawaii
Pacific University (Summer 2005)
"Defending a Forgotten Frontier: Texas in the Spanish Era," Texas Philosophical Society
(Fall 2004)
“Wade Hampton in the Carolinas during the Civil War,” Confederate Historical Institute
Conference, Raleigh, NC (Spring 2004)
"Lee in the Shadow of Washington," Summer Symposium, Military History Education
Group, Arthur, IL (Fall 2003)
"General Robert E. Lee: In the Shadow of Washington," NEH Lecture Series, Hawaii
Pacific University (Summer 2003)
“Dixie’s Continentals: Lee and the Siege of Petersburg,” McCormick Civil War Institute,
Shenandoah University, VA (Summer 2003)
"Lee in the Shadow of Washington," Bicentennial Lecture Series, Arlington House, VA (Fall 2002)
"Lee in the Shadow of Washington," Summer Lecture Series, Georgia Historical Society
(2002)
“Unionism in Texas during the Civil War,” Summer Institute, Texas State Historical
Association (2002)
"Revolutionary Times: Comparing the Revolution and the Civil War," Alumni Seminar,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (Summer 2000)
Graduation Address, Honors Convocation, Lamar University, TX (Spring 2000)
"Methodist Protestants and the Establishment of High Point University," Southeastern
Jurisdictional Historical Society of the United Methodist Church (Summer 1998)
Keynote, Civil War Symposium, Nimitz Museum, Fredericksburg, TX (Spring 1997)
"Twentieth Century America" and "Journey through Southern History," NEH Series,
East Tennessee Historical Society (Spring 1990)
Chair
“Crossing National Boundaries: The U.S. Army in Mexico, 1846-1848,” Society for
Military History (Spring 2017)
“War and Policy in Europe and the Mediterranean," Consortium on the Revolutionary Era (Spring 2015)
"The Army Comes to Texas,” Texas State Historical Association (Spring 2014)
"Remembering the Pacific at War from 1812 to 1941," Society for Military History (Spring 2013)
"The Direction of Military and Diplomatic History in the Academy," Consortium on the Revolutionary Era (Spring 2013)
"Foreign Threats, Slavery, and Texas Rangers in East Texas," East Texas Historical Association (Fall 2012)