The Soldiers (Time-Life, The Old West Series).pdf

pdf / English / 1974 Time-Life / 240 pages / 41.3 MB

The book begins with a gritty sense of reality for soldiers in the Old West (Page 6): "Fear, fatigue, poor rations and little appreciation from his countrymen--that was the lot of the U. S. soldiers whose job it was to enforce the nation's arrogant and often muddleheaded Indian policies." The book itself begins with the story of Major George Forsyth's efforts against the Indians. It ends, in essence, with George Custer's "Last Stand" at the Little Bighorn."

Then, the life of soldiers in the Old West. It focuses on General Phil Sheridan's efforts to bring "peace" to the West. Chapter 2 examines the forts of the West, of varying quality. As the volume notes (Page 47) ". . .some were the epitome of ramshackle misery and others approached opulence." Chapter 3 considers campaigns against Native Americans. Blizzards, heat, often frustrating marches for days on end with nothing to show for it. . . . The frustrations are well described. Pages 104-105 provide illustrations of the weapons used by troopers in the West (from practically useless swords to pistols and carbines).

Disasters and triumphs alike are described. By the end of the book, one has a pretty good sense of what life as a soldier was like in the West.