Review of Soldiers West: Biographies from the Military Frontier

The American West and the Old Army\u27s role in it remain of enduring interest. For example, Edward M. Coffman\u27s The Old Army: A Portrait of the American Army in Peacetime, 1784-1898 (1986) is a collective study of the officers and enlisted men and their dependents. Now, as an unintentional but superb companion piece, Soldiers West examines individual officers who were influential in exploring, policing, and developing the frontier. Two important themes emerge from these mini-biographies. First, as military historians have long recognized, the army played a vital role in national development. Second, and less well understood but especially fascinating, was the diversity among officers in their personalities, interests, and experiences