The Deserving by Efren O'Brien

The forts in New Mexico were, for the most part, built to protect the residents against the Indians.  They didn't want the white people moving in and taking over their hunting grounds.  Not too long afterward, the Civil War began.  The majority of the soldiers here were Union soldiers.  But the Confederate soldiers were bold and greedy and began a campaign to take over the forts and the land...

BooksGoSocial and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you grab a copy now.

Since I live in New Mexico and have visited several of these forts, I was interested in reading more about them.  This is a good historical source of facts about the war.  Most of the forts mentioned are still standing and you can visit them as historical sites.  Reading about the people who lived here, who occupied the forts, and more is almost eerie.  When we visited Fort Craig, I could hear voices.  I saw no ghosts but I heard their conversations.  That made this book even more real to me.

The Confederates came up from Texas.  They followed the Rio Grande.  (It flows through Las Cruces.)  They were outnumbered but they used their knowledge of fighting to win more than one battle.  While all this is going on, you have a side story of a young woman and a soldier who find themselves falling in love.  They get separated quickly and it's years before they find each other again.

This is a good story and is a great way to visit the battle fields of New Mexico.  Even Kit Carson was here in those days.  Come visit the old days in New Mexico.