Vistas of American Military History 1800-1898

<p>A team of leading American military historians here investigate the factors that shaped the United States Army in the nineteenth century.</p><p>Throwing new light on its history, this deeply researched book explores a mulitplicity of themes. These include the social structure, command system and relationship with civil power which are all important in assessing its efficiency and behaviour in war; and the way the army is depicted in military literature and cinema which affects its social portrait.</p><p>Deliberately exploring neglected themes, this key work includes discussion on:</p><p>* the roles of the many volunteer colonels in the Mexican War, 1846-48<br>* Robert Wettemann and the alleged 'isolation' of the US Army in the nineteenth century<br>* John Ford's famous 'cavalry trilogy' of motion pictures.</p><p>Containing so much food for thought, for students of US history and military history this is an entertaining as well as instructional book.</p> 1. The Vistas of American Military History PART 1: GENERAL THEMES 2. The Commanding Generals and the Question of Civil Control in the Antebellum U.S. Army 3. John M. Schofield and the 'Multipurpose' Army 4. A Part or Apart: The Alleged Isolation of Antebellum U.S. Army Officers PART 2: SPECIAL SUBJECTS 5. How the Army Became Accepted: West Point Socialization, Military Accountability, and the Nation-State During the Jacksonian Era 6. Leaders for Manifest Destiny: American Volunteer Colonels Serving in the U.S.-Mexican War 7. Soldier of the Pen: The Literary Careers of Richard Taylor, John Bell Hood, and W. H. Tunnard 8. 'Romantic, isn't it, Miss Dandridge?': Sources and Meanings of John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy