A not very good book about interesting history. The name “Army of the Pacific” describes both volunteer units recruited to stay in the Pacific coast states and territories, guarding them from natives and supposed Confederate incursions, and the mix of Regular and volunteer units known as the “California Column” sent off to deal with Confederate regulars and irregulars in Arizona and New Mexico. Although they did fight the westernmost land battle in the Civil War (at Pichacho Pass in Arizona) against a few Confederate scouts, by the time they got to New Mexico the Confederates under General Sibley had been turned back at Glorieta Pass and retreated all the way to Texas, and the Californians were put on garrison duty, had occasional Indian encounters, and engaged in minor persecution of Mormons. The ones left behind didn’t have much excitement either, with a few miscellaneous skirmishes against various tribes and now and then the arrest of some real or imaginary Confederate agents.


Author Aurora Hunt had a history degree, but the book unfortunately reads more like a desultory collection of anecdotes rather than an organized history. There are a lot of accounts of various parades, flag awarding ceremonies, barracks construction, and other civil/military events (which, to be fair, are what most wars are about) but it could have been done in a much shorter book. Only recommended to die-hard Civil War buffs. ( )