"If his sense of justice had led him to fine discrimination in these matters, the [Native American] would long ago have made an attack on the national Capitol."So wrote Indian Inspector and former agent for the Sioux, James McLaughlin, in 1910.Long used as a source for scholarship on the Battle of the Little Bighorn, McLaughlin's classic memoir is a fascinating read. Acquainted with all of the major Native American personalities of the late 19th century (Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Gall, Rain-in-the-Face, etc.), McLaughlin had opportunities to question them at length about their involvement in Custer's last battle.Though more recent research has brought into question some of the Indian accounts in this book, many of them stand and the first-person perspectives are invaluable.In addition, McLaughlin's many years of contact with the Sioux made him an admiring and honest friend. He advocated for policies that were fair to the Indians and, like many others of the period, saw westward expansion as an irreconcilable force that was overwhelming the Native Americans while not supporting their extraordinarily difficult transition to a new way of life.If you buy this book only for the Custer material, it's worth the price of admission. But the work is much richer than that.

Young George Belden lived one of the most remarkable of lives of any man on the western frontier of America. A runaway at 13, he lived among the Sioux, learning their language and ways, and married a young Sioux woman to whom he became very attached. Though a young man, he was regarded as a writer of merit in regards to his work on Native Americans. He later served in the U.S Army cavalry with Major James Brisbin, who collected the material you're about to read from Belden's diaries and manuscripts. Brisbin was also a writer of note in his day and was also part of the Montana Column under General John Gibbon that was slated to unite with General George Armstrong Custer at the Little Bighorn. Belden's time among the Indians was exciting, fraught with danger, amusing, and even heartwarming. This edition contains new material and annotations for a modern audience. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of a time that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

That Frank Grouard was an important figure in the history of the Indian wars of the Great Plains is beyond any doubt. Nor can there be the slightest doubt of Grouard's position among his fellows, including General George Crook, George Armstrong Custer, and Chicago Times correspondent, John Finerty. Six feet tall and 200 pounds of muscle, Grouard (also spelled Gruard) was well acquainted with Indian life. He knew Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Red Cloud, and most of the Native American leaders. Having been captured by the Sioux, he spent years with them learning their language and ways, becoming accepted as one of their own. Returning to white society, he put what he knew to use as one of the greatest army scouts of the Old West. In the Great Sioux War of 1876, he was a scout for General Crook's Big Horn and Yellowstone Expedition that was supposed to unite with Custer's Seventh Cavalry to bring the Sioux and Cheyenne into reservations. Grouard fought with Crook at the Battle of the Rosebud just eight days before Custer was wiped out by the same Indians under Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. By the time this book was written in 1894, Grouard was known all over the country. His exciting accounts of Indian life and the Indian Wars is a seminal contribution to our knowledge of the period. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the events that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Among the many captive narratives of the nineteenth century, Nelson Lee's stands out as one of the most thrilling and authentic. A longtime Texas Ranger, Lee was captured by Comanches and held for three long, grueling years before making his escape. Once free, he nearly lost his mind and his life during the two months it took him to make his way to a settlement. Alone, lonely, completely worn out, and uncertain of where he was, he was barely able to persevere. Back in his native state of New York, this book was compiled and published very shortly after his return. It is invaluable for its descriptions of Comanche life and the life of Texas Rangers in mid-century. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the movement that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

One of the most fascinating classics ever written about the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Dr. Thomas Marquis spent many years getting to know and interviewing Native Americans who had fought against General Custer and the 7th Cavalry. This is the narrative of Chief Wooden Leg, given to Marquis late in Wooden Leg's life. Long dismissed by historians, Little Bighorn scholars today believe the Indian accounts to be essential to an understanding of what went wrong at the Little Bighorn (and what went right for the Sioux and Cheyenne). Archaeology at the battlefield has born out the veracity of the Indian accounts and the contribution to history by Wooden Leg and Marquis is invaluable. Included is a great deal of information about the life of the Cheyenne of Wooden Leg's time, his boyhood, his understanding of Indian medicine, a very detailed account of the June 25-26, 1876 battle with Custer, and more. This is a book you'll read more than once. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the movement that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Henry Calvert's warmly funny and heartbreaking memoir of his time in the American Civil War is sometimes a typical soldier story but more often a highly-entertaining tale. He interwove his experiences in the army with his pursuit of the love of his life, who was already promised to another soldier. He and his best friend enlisted in Scott's 900 Regiment of Cavalry. For a time, they were bodyguards to Abraham Lincoln and Calvert's stories of that time is here as well. His heart broken, he nevertheless accepts his love's request to find her betrothed and present him with her locket. He finally found his rival after the war, explained his mission, and got an unexpected surprise. Along the way, he fought a war and commanded other soldiers. Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers, tablets, and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

This is a rare book of keen observation, respect, and in some instances even affection for Native Americans of his time. (It's a good bet his editor or the marketing department had something to do with the language.) General Oliver O. Howard commanded Union forces in the American Civil War and lost his right arm at the Battle of Fair Oaks in 1862. After recovery, he continued in important commands, including the Army of the Tennessee. He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. For nine years after the Civil War, he was commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau and worked to integrate free African Americans into southern society. Howard was also a leader in promoting higher education for freedmen, most notably in founding of Howard University in Washington and serving as its president 1867–73. He accepted the surrender of the famous chief Joseph, and led campaigns and negotiations with an astonishing number of the western tribes. No student of the Indian Wars in the United States should miss reading this book. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.