The Life and Military Career of George A. Forsyth (review)

BOOK REVIEWS65 tions must be sought. Jamieson emphasizes how one of the most important offensive reforms with the new rapid-firing weapons was extended-order battlefield formations built around small units, first around Upton's sets of four and then, in the 1891 reforms, around squads of eight combining two sets of four. Also important was the emphasis on attack by short rushes, taking advantage of available cover. On the other side of the balance, extended order with small units heightened concern about command and control until the introduction ofthe field telephone, which first appeared on rifle ranges during the 1880s but had not reached the battlefield at the battalion level or below by the Spanish-American War. Jamieson develops how even the 1891 manuals and supplementary literature for all arms remained an ambivalent mix ofnew ideas sometimes running ahead and of old ideas not keeping apace of technological change. He concludes that the Spanish-American War reinforced the views of reformers who emphasized both the continuing strength ofthe entrenched defense and the offensive potential of small units advancing by rushes or by continuous advance with sustained fire. The war gave some support to reformers who advocated the offensive potential of the Gatling gun. Otherwise lack of technological development, shortcomings in tactical thought, or lack of opportunity postponed the verdict on American tactical development into the twentieth century. Edward Hagerman York University The Life and Military Career ofGeorgeA. Forsyth. By David Dixon. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1994. Pp. xviii, 257. $32.50.) This is the story of the life and military career of a veteran of the Civil War and Indian wars who served twenty-nine years in the army. Dixon examines Forsyth's military career, using the army's role in westward expansion and national development as a backdrop. Forsyth studied law prior to the Civil War and was admitted to the Illinois bar. His enlistment in the Chicago Dragoons on April 19,1861, precluded him entering law practice. He served in early campaigns in western Virginia but participated in less combat than he had hoped. He mustered out on August 20, 1861, and returned to Chicago. There he received an appointment as first lieutenant ofthe 8th Illinois Cavalry. Wounded several times during the Civil War, including seriously at Brandy Station, Forsyth spent much of 1863 hospitalized. He was promoted to major on September 1, 1863, while still in the hospital recovering and ultimately attained the rank oflieutenant colonel. On May 25, 1864, Forsyth was assigned to Gen. Phil Sheridan's staff as acting aide-de-camp. This began a seventeen-year service with Sheridan. In this position, Forsyth frequently proved his dedication to duty and his bravery as he completed dangerous assignments during the last eighteen months of the war. At war's end he wanted to remain in the army and thus applied for and received 66CIVIL WAR history on July 28, 1 866, a regular army appointment as a major of the 9th Cavalry. Sheridan immediately called him to rejoin his staff as acting inspector general. On August 24, 1868, Forsyth, having not had a field command in three years, asked Sheridan for such an assignment. Sheridan ordered Forsyth to raise a party of fifty volunteer scouts, with Lt. Frederik H. J. Beecher of the 3d Cavalry as his immediate subordinate. Leaving Fort Wallace, Kansas, and following the trail of several groups of Native Americans, Forsyth ordered his scouts to camp on the Arikaree River in northeastern Colorado on September 16. There Southern Cheyenne and Sioux warriors attacked Forsyth, forcing him to lead his men to take refuge on a small island in the middle of the stream. Until rescued on September 25 by regular army troops, Forsyth and his command held off repeated attacks. Beecher died in the defense, as did several others. Forsyth named the island after Lieutenant Beecher. Forsyth was wounded severely, and it took many months before he could return to duty. Forsyth continued his military career, and in 1 875 Gen. William T. Sherman sent him with Gen. Emory Upton on a seventeen-month tour of Asian and European armies. Once he returned from this trip, he received another assignment...