Product Description

William Tecumseh Sherman and the Settlement of the West by Robert G. Athearn N ORMAN University of Oklahoma Press FOR CLAIRE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Contrary to the information carried on the title page, this book is not the work of one person. There are many hidden partners in such a project, and credit should go to them. First and fore most, thanks for assistance are due the Social Science Research Council. Without its financial support, the extensive travel re quired to gather material could not have been undertaken. The University of Colorado, through its Council on Research and Creative Work, rendered additional aid. Criticizing and correcting the manuscripts of a fellow laborer in the field comprise yet another of the many additional duties loaded onto my colleagues in the profession. To William Newell Davis, Jr., California State Archives Professor Earl Pomeroy, Department of History, University of Oregon Professor Robert E. Riegel, Dartmouth College and Professor Hal Bridges, De partment of History, University of Colorado, I offer an expres sion of deep appreciation for their time, patience, and talent. The late Professor Carl Coke Rister, Department of History, Texas Technological College, Lubbock, Texas, gave valuable suggestions and pointed the way to additional materials. Wayne D. Overholser, of Boulder, Colorado, lent some of his knowledge gained through years of successful writing. The willing and enthusiastic assistance rendered by staff mem bers in a number of libraries and archives is gratefully acknowl edged. C. Percy Powell, Division of Manuscripts, Library of Con gress, and Richard G. Wood, War Records Branch, National Ar chives, both of Washington, D. C., were extremely helpful. Harry E. Pratt, Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield, Illinois Colton Storm, William L. Clements Library, University of Mich igan, Ann Arbor, Michigan Watt P. Marchman, Hayes Me-VII Sherman and the Settlement of the West morial Library, Fremont, Ohio and Elizabeth C. Biggert, Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, Columbus, Ohio, all provided extremely useful manuscript material that enriched the study considerably. From the following directors, staff members, and libraries, I received the fullest co-operation Nyle H. Miller, Kansas State Historical Society Charles Van Ravenswaay, Missouri Historical Society St. Louis Margaret Rose, State Historical Society of North Dakota James C. Olson, Nebraska State Historical So ciety Claude R. Cooke, Iowa State Department of History and Archives Arthur H. Parsons, Omaha Public Library Gertrude McDevitt, Historical Department of Idaho A. R. Mortensen, Utah State Historical Society Lola M. Homsher and Henryetta Berry, Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department Caroline Wenzel, California State Library Elizabeth Tindall, St. Louis Mercantile Library Edward B. Morrison, Division of Manuscripts, New York Public Library Dorothy C. Barck, New York Historical Society K. Ross Toole, Historical Society of Montana Mulford Winsor, Arizona Department of Library and Archives Ina T. Aulls, Alys Freeze, and Opal Harber, Denver Public Library George P. Hammond, Bancroft Library, Univer sity of California Agnes Wright Spring, State Historical Society of Colorado Eugene H. Wilson, University of Colorado Library Archibald Hanna, Western Americana Collection, Yale Univer sity and the staff at Chicagos Newberry Library. Others who lent their skills or materials for the volume are Mr. Victor D. Spark of New York City Burton Harris Virginia Brasel Grieder and Professor Isaac Bacon. The maps were drawn by William A. Greig, Barbara Dumont Samsel, and Pamela Wilson, under the direction of Professor Albert W. Smith, Department of Geography, University of Colo rado. Some of the material used in writing this book has appeared in article form in The Pacific Historical Review, The Mississippi Valley Historical Review, and Montana, The Magazine of West ern History...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #236165 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 396 pages

Customer Reviews

Quite Constructive Overview
Robert A. Athearn spins an amazingly good yarn quite out of step with both the Hollywood version of Native American / Military relationships during the settlement of the American West as well as today's apologetic view of Native American / white relationships during that time. Sourced almost entirely from Sherman's and others official correspondence, Athearn drives home the important points that the settlement of the West revolved around four key issues: the railroads, continued Congressional reduction of Army personnel, the complete failure of the Interior Department in developing effective Indian policies and the polar opposite attitudes of frontier whites and their more civilized (safer) East and West coast fellow citizens.

This is a very well done review of one of the key participants who directly set a good portion of the Military policy that was pursued in dealing with Native Americans during this era. From Sherman's own writings we see an Army commander who was pragmatic, yet very evenhanded.

Very well written, this is an easy read that accurately reports Military policy in the West from 1865 - 1885. You will not be disappointed.

A great work on an overlooked portion of Sherman's life
There are literally dozens of biographies on General William T. Sherman. But this is the only one, at least of which I am aware, that deals with the eighteen years of Sherman's military career AFTER the Civil War in any amount of detail. It is sad that such an important work as Sherman's in the West should be overlooked, but Robert G. Athearn attempts to correct this oversight with this work. Athearn's treatment of Sherman commences right after the Civil War, when Sherman became commander of the Division of the Missouri, and ends with Sherman's retirement. The book deals with Sherman's relations with the railroad, with his dealings with the press, and with how he treated the Indian question.

As stated, this book is not a biography of Sherman's whole life. Instead, it is a concise and detailed study of what Athearn considers the most important years of Sherman's professional life. It is Athearn's contention that, though he had been the hero of Atlanta and the march to the sea, Sherman's most important military contributions took place East of the Mississippi River. His argument, while perhaps not totally convincing, is nevertheless worthy of consideration. Sherman saw the importance of the intercontinental railroad and, as Athearn points out at some length, did all he could to help push that project along. He also devotes considerable space to Sherman's relations with the Indians.

This is a very good book. Sherman's part in the Indian Wars is often overlooked, but Athearn narrates the problems with the Native Americans through Sherman's eyes, and looks, in a sense, at a larger view of the problem. Throughout the book Athearn maintains objectivity, though it does seem his sympathies lie with the general. The only problem I have with this book is when Athearn tries to get inside his subject's head. Though it happens fairly often, this does not really detract from the book. Still, such statements as "Sherman must have felt that..." or "Sherman longed to be..." are annoying, and detract from the overall quality of the book.

This book is unique, and as such is a very valuable resource. I consider this book to be essential to any study of the life of Sherman, as well as essential to any student of the postwar Army or the Plains Indian Wars.