Frontier Cavalry Trooper: The Letters of Private Eddie Matthews, 1869–1874 ed. by Douglas C. McChristian (review)

The son of a Civil War veteran, young William Edward “Eddie” Matthews left his rural Maryland home with two friends to seek out a new life in Ohio. Shortly after their arrival in the Buckeye State his friends returned home, leaving Matthews alone and unemployed. Despite his “destitute” situation, Matthews chose to remain in Ohio to avoid returning home to a “strained relationship with his father” (xv). Jobless at nineteen years of age, Matthews decided to join the U.S. Army at a Cincinnati recruiting station. The Army sent Matthews to the West where he lived a life of adventure in military service during the Indian campaigns of the 1870s, but his military career ended in a conviction and court-martial for forging a document to pay the debt of a fellow soldier. Sometime after being released from prison Matthews moved to Sellersville, Pennsylvania, where he took a job in a cigar factory, married, and fathered a child. In later life Matthews became a “local celebrity” as an “old ex-cavalryman” and “Indian fighter” (398). Following the death of his wife, Matthews moved in with his son in New Jersey, where he passed away in 1932.

The volume begins with an engaging introduction written by the book’s editor, Douglas C. McChristian, which sets up nine chapters comprised of Matthews’s letters. The chapters cover different periods of Matthews’s “unvarnished” letters that were “written to home folks” between 1869 and 1874 (xvi, xviii). McChristian begins each chapter with background information that sets the stage for the correspondence to follow, and he identifies each letter by its date and the place from where it was written. This makes it easy to follow Matthews’s travels and post assignments. As a scholar and author of several articles and books dealing with the history of the U.S. Army on the western frontier, McChristian skillfully places the letters in their historical context with the use of explanatory footnotes. In addition, there was little need to edit the letters because Matthews was fairly well educated and an eloquent writer. Although reading nearly four hundred pages of letters might seem tedious at first, doing so carries the reward of being taken back to a time when the West was still largely unsettled.

The beautifully written letters present an intimate look into Matthews’s personal thoughts and the reality of frontier Army life. They are filled with fascinating details related to historical events and little-known places. In addition, Matthews’s correspondence shows the personal struggles that soldiers on the frontier experienced when far from home. Some of his letters express the joy that he felt serving in the cavalry, but others talk about the tedium of being an enlisted man and longing to return home to Maryland. For example, after a long day of sitting in a saddle on a march with his fellow troopers, he wrote: “If there ever was a lot of happy men, it was us.” But, only two days later Matthews wrote about his “bondage in the service of the United States” and longing to be free of the Army (181).

With the letters and editorial comments largely focusing on New Mexico, Arizona, and surrounding region, readers are given a first-hand glimpse into late nineteenth-century society and life on the southwestern frontier. In addition, the inclusion of more than twenty carefully selected illustrations and maps help the reader visualize the places and events related to Matthews’s letters. This is an engaging book and important contribution to understanding the day-to-day life of a regular soldier on the frontier.