Pre-war Army

[brown]

What are some recommended sources for reading/learning about the army of the United States during the period between the Mexican War and Civil War?
Thanks,
Lindsey Brown

[AZReenactor]

Re: Pre-war Army

Since it was born in the American War for Independance, I don't believe the U.S. Army ever existed pre-war.

Even if we are to assume you are seeking information about the army prior to the American Civil War, that is still a very broad general topic. What specifically are you looking for? What time period? What types of information? Material culture? Organizational structure? Narrative history? Financial management? Can you narrow this down some?

[paulcalloway]

Re: Pre-war Army

The U.S. Regular Army always has considered itself as an unbroken extension of the Revolutionary Continental Army.

Some Sources for you:

A Country Made by War: From the Revolution to Vietnam - the Story of America's Rise to Power, Geoffrey Perret (1989)

A Handbook of American Military History: From the Revolutionary War to the Present, Ed. Jerry K. Sweeney and Kevin B. Byrne (1997)

The Oxford Companion to American Military History, Ed. John Whiteclay II Chambers, Fred Anderson, Lynn Eden, Joseph T. Glatthaar, Ronald H. Spector, and G. Kurt Piehler (2000)

I've had the Perret book since college and it's a wonderful resource - compact and imformative.

[brown]

Re: Pre-war Army

I was think that the expierences of American soldiers (not the War Department in Washington or the big-name officers most of us have learned about) would be most interesting. Material culture, enlistment terms, living conditions, etc. could all help fill-in a deeper understanding.

[Tom Ezell]

Re: Pre-war Army

I was think that the expierences of American soldiers (not the War Department in Washington or the big-name officers most of us have learned about) would be most interesting. Material culture, enlistment terms, living conditions, etc. could all help fill-in a deeper understanding.

For the Revolution, Joseph Plumb Martin's memoirs, Private Yankee Doodle, is about as close to Sam Watkin's Company 'Aytch' as you're liable to find.

R. Bruce Winders' Mr. Polk's Army: The American Military Experience in the Mexican War is exactly what you're asking for, very similar in scope to Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee, just backed up about 14 to 15 years.

The big table-top book, Army Blue, is a good reference on the uniform changes from around 1830 through 1872.

William B. Skelton's An American Profession of Arms: The Army Officer Corps, 1784-1861 is an excellent resource on the Regular Army and its service from the close of the Revolution until the opening of the Civil War. It's on the current Army's professional development reading list, so should be easily available.

Another good resource is the Manifest Destiny message board, which covers the antebellum years in the Trans-Mississippi region: http://p197.ezboard.com/ffrontierguardfrm2 .

There's a start...

[Charles Heath]

Re: Pre-war Army

Lindsey,

You may enjoy Jeff Davis' Own: Cavalry, Comanches, and the Battle for the Texas Frontier by James R. Arnold. The book is largely about the 2nd US Cavalry from 1855 forward, and features a number of soon-to-be-well-known soldiers. Amazon or Ebay probably have used copies for a good price, and your local library can provide the means for an interlibrary loan.

[straggler]

Re: Pre-war Army

The Regular Army on the Eve of the Civil War by George T. Ness, Jr.
includes info not only on individuals but posts and regiments. Mostly for the
1850's.

[marlin teat]

Re: Pre-war Army

So Far from God: The U.S. War With Mexico, 1846-1848 by John D. Eisenhower.

Some really good information on the army on campaign and the internal politics that had lasting implications. Great read!

[Lee Ragan]

Re: Pre-war Army

Here are some more you might enjoy:
1. "Frontiersmen in Blue - The U.S. Army & the Indian 1848-1865" By: Robert Utley
2. "Texas & New Mexico on the Eve of the Civil War- The Mansfield & Johnston Inspections 1848-1865" By: Jerry Thompson.
3. "The Old Army In Texas", By: Thomas T. Smith
4. "United States Army Headgear to 1854" and "United States Army Headgear 1855-1902", Smitsonian Institution bullitens (out of print but can still be found)
5. "American Military Belts & Related Equipments", By: R. Stephen Dorsey
6. "The Men of Fort Foster: Enlisted Uniforms, Equipment & Artifacts of the United States Armed Forces 1835-1842" (Florida Seminole Wars) By: Alejandro M. deQuesada, Jr.
7. "The American Soldier, U.S. Armies in Uniform, 1755 to the Present", By: Pjillip Katcher
8. "Encyclopedia of United States Army & Uniforms", By. LTC William Emerson AUS (Ret.)
9. Dixie Gun Works Catalog, Union City Tenn. A gold mine of good books on the 19th century.
10. "Regulations & Notes for the Uniform of the Army of the United States", volumes for 1847,1851 and 1857. Compiled by Jacques Noel Jacobsen, Jr. (get these from Dixie Gun Works)
11. "Accoutrements of the Army of the U.S. as Described in Ordnance Manuals 1839, 1841,1850 & 1861" (this was available from Dixie Gun Works also)
These are just some books that will help you out. My primary impression is late 1850's Army on the Texas frontier, and all these books have helped me. Good luck to you.

[Spongebucket]

Re: Pre-war Army

Another excellent book on the subject is "The Old Army" by Ed Coffman. This is broken down into decades and then with the divisions of Officers, Enlisted and Women/civilians (laundresses, etc). Most of this deals with the peacetime Army.
Hope it helps,
Joe Blunt