Frontiersmen in Blue: The United States Army and the Indian, 1848-1865

Admittedly this is a work for a somewhat limited audience. However, if you have an interest in the topic, you would be hard pressed to find a better book on the subject.I first encountered Mr. Utley as one of the commentators on a series about the West on the History Channel. I found his narrative style much to my liking so I read his "Frontier Regulars" which covers the post Civil War period on the frontier. Reading that, I found that it was actually part 2 of a two book history with "Frontiersmen in Blue" being volume one. I highly recommend both volumes, and while I wish I had read "Frontiersmen in Blue" first, it's not really necessary.Mr. Utley does a wonderful job of personalizing the protagonists (on both sides) and his work seems to benefit form a wealth of research which he distills into a very readable account. He's also very even-handed in his praise and criticisms, although the works still seem to cant slightly to the Army/Government perspective. I feel that this speaks more to the relative scarcity of source material from Indian sources than to any bias on Mr. Utley's part.Overall, just a great, readable account of the struggles played out on the frontier between the end of the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.

Well, anyone willing to do some reading. No long excruciating detail. The Bruce Catton of today. Easily understood and to follow and be aware of what really happened, not the movie version. I never saw a howitzer in the movies!

the book is the 1st. volume of a two volume collection about the u.s army and the american indian. a great bargain.

Good history of the army in the west Pre-civil war, this is an overview with a good bibliography. Robert Utley provides a concise easy to read and follow history of the US army in the west.

A classic of course! Utley's books serve as a fine basis to begin your studies. A must have in your western library.

greatdealer

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If an officer’s pen was moving, he was lying. But Utley thinks these docs are sacrosanct. Well the ones that supported his thesis at least.If you want to destroy his historical integrity, look into G.K. Warren and ask yourself why he gets one index entry and no source reference. Why?Because it is impossible to write around government sponsored genocide if you include the genius of Warren, who says in his massively influential 1858 and 1875 reports that this will be necessary to defeat the Sioux.Utley was a typical park historian and just another cog in the machine perpetually repeating the myth of exceptionalism. He most certainly doesn’t want the casual reader to go look up the Warren reports.The book is a good bare bones outline of the period and a fantastic study in historical biases. The Warren example is just one of many omissions and gloss overs.Oh and Robert, I know it’s messy, but in the USA the civil controls the military policy.