The Late 19th Century U.S. Army, 1865-1898: A Research Guide (review)

184CIVIL WAR HISTORY most use to readers who bring to it independent knowledge of the historical context that its author too often fails to provide. Steven F. Miller University of Maryland The Late 19th Century U.S. Army, 1865-1898: A Research Guide. By Joseph G. Dawson III. (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1990. Pp. xix, 252, $45.00.) The United States Army experienced one of its most difficult periods between the end of the Civil War and the onset of the Spanish-American War because of its low status in the public mind. Forced to operate within the constraints of minimal funding, inadequate equipment, and reduced strength, it was nevertheless expected to perform numerous tasks including coastal defense, strike breaking, garrison duty in the South during the Reconstruction era, and the administration of national parks. These diverse responsibilities were in addition to its well-known role of fighting Indians on the frontier. In this compilation, Dawson identifies the major sources on this period of American military history. In addition to a preface that lists the top fifty secondary works, other materials are classified according to nine major topical sections that encompass secondary sources, government documents, published primary sources, and the location of important manuscript collections. Also included are four appendices, including a useful chronology. Dawson's introductory essays to the major sections are well done, particularly in his discussion of general topics. Among these are the major schools of thought on whether the army was isolated from American society and the extent to which its officer corps was moving toward increased professionalization. His succinct annotations on major works such as those by Jack D. Foner, John M. Gates, Samuel P. Huntington, William H. Leckie, and Robert M. Utley are valuable for those who are beginning studies into this period. However, the annotations for less significant works are uneven in quality (e.g., pp. 84-85, entries 248, 259). In other instances no annotations appear at all (49, 160). Such an omission is regrettable in certain instances as, for example, Bernard C. Nalty's Strength for the Fight: A History of Black Americans in the Military (p. 52, entry 33). Although Nalty devoted only a chapter to the period between 1865 and 1898, his 1986 work deserves at least some comment because of its importance for understanding institutional racism in the American military within a broad historical context. Also, a reference to the location of Edwin McMasters Stanton's personal papers (47-48) would have been appropriate since he served as the secretary of war until May 28, 1868. book reviews185 Aside from these oversights, Dawson's work is a well-balanced reference source to this period in American military history. On the whole, it provides a good departure point for the study of the army's place in American society and the liabilities it faced as it attempted to execute its multidimensional mission in the post-Civil War era. James W. Geary Kent State University The Civil War Battlefield Guide. Edited by Frances H. Kennedy. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1990. Pp. 317, $29.95 cloth; $16.95 paper.) Just at a time when interest in Civil War battlefields is receiving increased national attention, when battlefield preservation has become the "hottest " and most popular preservation issue in Washington, The Conservation Fund has brought forth an outstanding guide to some 65 Civil War battlefields and campaigns, using essays on the subjects from an outstanding array of Civil War historians and other less expected authors. U.S. Senators Sam Nunn of Georgia and John Heinz of Pennsylvania, and CIA Director William Webster (whose grandfather was mortally wounded at Perryville) join with historians of the caliber of James McPherson, James I. Robertson, Stephen Sears, Ed Bearss, Gary Gallagher , William C. Davis, Ludwell Johnson, Richard Sommers, Herman Hattaway, the father-son team of Harry and Donald Pfanz, and literally dozens of others to present the best one-volume coverage of Civil War battles ever available anywhere. Under the able editorship of Frances Kennedy, the director of the Civil War Battlefield Project of The Conservation Fund (the Virginia-based group that acted as agent for the recent Mellon Foundation gift of over one hundred thousand acres...