The American Army in Transition, 1865-1898 (Daily Life Through History Series)

by Michael L. Tate

Overview

The last thirty-five years of the nineteenth century were a time of dramatic change for the U.S. military, including the Reconstruction of the South after the Civil War; fighting the Indian Wars of 1865 through 1890; and shifting military personnel concerns and increased responsibilities, including law enforcement, protection of the National Parks, and border patrols. As the century's end neared, the army faced increasing retrenchment and increased advocacy for veteran's causes when the Civil War veteran population aged. This book illustrates the lives of the average soldier and his family, his involvement with the community, and his contributions and needs as a veteran.

The late nineteenth century in American military history is not as well known as others. Relying on documents, diaries, newspaper accounts, and family histories, Tate also includes a timeline, a topically arranged bibliography, and a comprehensive index.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313332128
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/30/2007
Series:	The Greenwood Press Daily Life Through History Series: American Soldiers' Lives
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.56(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Michael L. Tate is Professor of History at University of Nebraska, Omaha. Among his previously published books are The Frontier Army in the Settlement of the West and Indians and Emigrants on the Overland Trails: Myths Reexamined.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword     vii
Preface     ix
Timeline     xiii
Overview: Reshaping the U.S. Army after the Civil War     1
From Glory to Ambiguity: Recruitment of a Peacetime Army     7
New Duties: From Reconstruction South to Old West     25
Armed Laborers: Building and Maintaining a Network of Posts     43
The Regimental Family: Patronage, Power, and Social Dynamics     59
Off Duty, On Post: The Search for Recreation and Entertainment     79
Many Missions: A Multipurpose Army on the Frontier     99
"Tigers of the Human Species": Military Views of the American Indian     117
Black Regulars: Racial Realities in a White Man's Army     135
Twilight of the Old Army     153
Bibliography     163
Index     199

Editorial Reviews

Tate describes the daily lives of officers and enlisted men in a period marked by wars against hapless indigenous and indignant imperialists. He examines the role of the family, the acquisition of traditional and new identities as soldiers, the shifts in purpose and mission, the promotion of Army life as patriotic and fulfilling by those who were not themselves in the life, the role of recreation, and the societal attitudes that were restated on the battlefield into slaughter.” —Reference & Research Book News

From the Publisher