Choice 评论

In this excellent interpretation of the US Army's diverse roles, Ball (history, Univ. of New Mexico) reminds us that the military establishment represented the federal government's most important agency in its far-flung frontier areas. Following an introductory section that demonstrates the harsh restrictions the army faced in the performance of its duties and in its difficult Indian combats, the author turns to detailed discussions of constabulary duties in the crucial period between the Mexican and Civil Wars. A meticulous search of archival and government sources helps document military intervention against filibusters interested in attacking Mexico and Central America from US soil, protection of Texas's southern border against bandits and revolutionaries, suppression of an uncontrolled vigilante movement in San Francisco, and a land dispute with Britain in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. A final section covers army roles in the Mormon War, Bleeding Kansas, and the secession crisis, events that stirred popular sympathies against the military and exposed the lack of clear constitutional authority for the army to intervene in civil issues. Building on the earlier works of Robert Utley, Ball has crafted a broad-ranging and judicious interpretation of the US army's role at mid-19th century. For all academic and general audiences. M. L. Tate University of Nebraska at Omaha