Forts And Forays

Forts and Forays is a rare account of frontier soldiering in the pre-Civil War Southwest by an enlisted man. James A. Bennett joined the regular army in 1849 and was stationed in New Mexico for six years before he deserted to Mexico. Assigned to the First Dragoons, he visited most major New Mexico posts such as Forts Union, Craig, and Fillmore. His company was stationed at or passed through Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Socorro, and other New Mexico settlements. In six years, his rank climbed from private to sergeant before an unknown infraction reduced him to the ranks. Bennett served under future Civil War generals Edwin V. Sumner, Richard S. Ewell, and John W. Davidson. During his service, Bennett waged war on the Kicarilla, Mogollon, Mescalero, and Mimbres Apaches, the Navajos, and the Utes, suffering serious wounds at the Battle of Cienguilla Forts and Forays is a unique glimpse into the routine duties and terrifying ordeals of soldiering in the antebellum Southwest.

Captivity narratives have been a standard genre of writings about Indians of the East for several centuries.a Until now, the West has been almost entirely neglected.a Now Gregory and Susan Michno have rectified that with this painstakenly researched collection of vivid and often brutal accounts of what happened to those men and women and children that were captured by marauding Indians during the settlement of the West."

John Adams is best remembered as one of the four Confederate generals who lay on the porch of the Carnton House, dead, when the Battle of Franklin ended on December 1, 1864. Unfortunately he did not leave much in the way of personal papers, and this biography has been pieced together from Army records and other sources, including accounts of his contemporaries. Adams's career in the U.S. Army gives us a good look at the military, the concept of Manifest Destiny, and the relations with those conquered by the Army, the Indians. This book also considers one of the more debated topics in Civil War history: why did a man who served the United States for most of his life resign his commission and side with the Confederacy?

In the fifteen years prior to the American Civil War, the U.S. Army established a presence in southern New Mexico, the homeland of Mescalero, Mimbres, and Mogollon bands of the Apache Indians. From the army’s perspective, the Apaches presented an obstacle to be overcome in making the region—newly acquired in the Mexican-American War—safe for Anglo settlers. In Dragoons in Apacheland, William S. Kiser recounts the conflicts that ensued and examines how both Apache warriors and American troops shaped the future of the Southwest Borderlands. Kiser narrates two distinct contests. The Apaches were defending their territory against the encroachment of soldiers and settlers. At the same time, the Anglo-Americans maneuvered against one another in a competition for political and economic power and for Apache territory. Cross-cultural misunderstandings, political corruption in Santa Fe and Washington, anti-Indian racism, troublemakers among both Apaches and settlers, irresponsible army officers and troops, corrupt American and Mexican traders, and policy disagreements among government officials all contributed to the ongoing hostilities. Kiser examines the behaviors and motivations of individuals involved in all aspects of these local, regional, and national disputes. Kiser is one of only a few historians to deal with this crucial period in Indian-white relations in the Southwest—and the first to detail the experiences of the First and Second United States Dragoons, elite mounted troops better equipped and trained than infantry to confront Apache guerrilla warriors more accustomed to the southwestern environment. Often led by the Gila leader Mangas Coloradas, the Apaches fought desperately to protect their lands and way of life. The Americans, Kiser shows, used unauthorized tactics of total warfare, encouraging field units to attack villages and destroy crops and livestock, particularly when the Apaches refused to engage the troops in pitched battles. Kiser’s insights into the pre–Civil War conflicts in southern New Mexico are essential to a deeper understanding of the larger U.S.-Apache war that culminated in the heroic resistance of Cochise, Victorio, and Geronimo.

The number and variety of forts and posts, together with changes of location, name, and designation, have posed perplexing problems for students of western history. Now Robert W. Frazer has prepared a systematic listing of all presidios and military forts, which were ever, at any time and in any sense, so designated. The lists of posts are arranged alphabetically within the boundaries of present states. Pertinent information is included for each fort: date of establishment, location, and reason for establishment; name, rank, and military unit of the person establishing the post; origin of the post name and changes in name and location; present status or date of abandonment; and disposition of any existing military reservation. A map for each state shows the location of the posts discussed. A prime reference for historians, Forts of the West will prove useful to readers of western history as well.