Soldiers West: Biographies from the Military Frontier

by Paul Andrew Hutton (Editor), Durwood Ball (Editor)

Overview

From the War of 1812 to the end of the nineteenth century, U.S. Army officers were instrumental in shaping the American West. They helped explore uncharted places and survey and engineer its far-flung transportation arteries. Many also served in the ferocious campaigns that drove American Indians onto reservations. Soldiers West views the turbulent history of the West from the perspective of fifteen senior army officers—including Philip H. Sheridan, George Armstrong Custer, and Nelson A. Miles—who were assigned to bring order to the region.

This revised edition of Paul Andrew Hutton’s popular work adds five new biographies, and essays from the first edition have been updated to incorporate recent scholarship. New portraits of Stephen W. Kearny, Philip St. George Cooke, and James H. Carleton expand the volume’s coverage of the army on the antebellum frontier. Other new pieces focus on the controversial John M. Chivington, who commanded the Colorado volunteers at the Sand Creek Massacre in 1863, and Oliver O. Howard, who participated in federal and private initiatives to reform Indian policy in the West. An introduction by Durwood Ball discusses the vigorous growth of frontier military history since the original publication of Soldiers West.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780806144658
Publisher:	University of Oklahoma Press
Publication date:	05/13/2014
Pages:	420
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Paul Andrew Hutton is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of New Mexico and author of Soldiers West: Biographies from the Military Frontier and numerous other books and articles.

Editorial Reviews

“Impressive. . . . Soldiers West merits a place on every frontier military bookshelf.”—New Mexico Historical Review

From the Publisher

"This anthology of military figures who oversaw the conquest of the Trans-Mississippi West will find a wide audience among readers grown accustomed to fine scholarship, and lively writing."The well-crafted biographies illuminate the multifaceted mission of the frontier army and the diverse careers of its offi-cers."—Montana: The Magazine of Western History

Montana: The Magazine of Western History

"Essays from some of the West's most noted historians profile such military leaders as Generals Custer, Crook, and Sheridan, William Clark and John G. Bourke, and half a dozen others. . . . From the cocksure, arrogant destiny of Custer to the intellectual pursuits of Bourke, Soldiers West explores the basic character of the American military man in revealing capsule studies."—San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle

"The 14 biographies illuminate the 19th century military presence in the West. Even better, all 14 are equally readable. Considering the diversity of scholars and subjects, this volume is especially well done."—Rocky Mountain News

Rocky Mountain News

"Soldiers West is a collection of fourteen minibiographies of prominent military figures who made significant contributions on the military frontier . . . all are written by scholars intimately familiar with their subjects and the results are both informative and entertaining."Paul Hutton's excellent preface and Robert Utley's masterful introduction set the stage for the objective, colorful, and well-written biographies that follow. Soldiers West will be welcomed by students of the American frontier and by the general reader as well."—Western Historical Quarterly

Western Historical Quarterly