RON FIELD

African-American soldiers played a decisive role in the US Army on the western frontier during the Plains Wars. First authorised by Congress in July 1866, they were organised into two cavalry and four infantry regiments, which were commanded by white officers. All were quickly nicknamed the 'Buffalo Soldiers' by their Cheyenne and Comanche enemies. These brave soldiers fought many native tribes over the years, including the warriors of Sitting Bull and Geronimo. This book tells the story of these buffalo soldiers who, until the early 1890s, constituted 20 per cent of all active forces on duty in the American West.

The part played in the Civil War by the small Marine Corps of the United and Confederate States is overshadowed by the confrontations of the great armies. Nevertheless, the coastal and riverine campaigns were of real importance, given the strategic significance of the Federal blockade of southern ports, and of the struggle for the Mississippi River. Marines wearing blue and grey fought in many dramatic actions afloat and ashore - ship-to-ship engagements, cutting-out expeditions, and coastal landings. This book offers a comprehensive summary of all such battles, illustrated with rare early photographs, and meticulously researched color plates detailing the often obscure minutiae of Marine uniforms and equipment.

A major period of westward expansion took place in the United States during the first half of the 19th century. Fur trading, the coast-to-coast railroad, the California gold rush and the removal of Native American tribes both facilitated and encouraged America's manifest destiny to become a transcontinental nation. The task of protecting the settlers from the tribes that inhabited the Great Plains fell to the US Army, and to do this an extensive network of permanent forts was created via construction and acquisition. This title examines why the forts were built, as well as their design, defensive features and the role they played in the settlement of the American West. The daily lives of the garrison soldiers and fort inhabitants are also covered, together with the fighting witnessed at key sites.

The common image of the Confederate Army during the Civil War is dominated by a limited number of early photographs of soldiers wearing the gray and butternut associated with the CS regulations and quartermaster issues. This sequence of books examines a much wider field: the original uniforms of the state militia and volunteer companies which were brought together to form the Confederate armies, and the continuing efforts by individual states to clothe their troops as wear-and-tear reduced the originally wide range of uniforms. A mass of information from state papers and other contemporary documents is illustrated with rare photographs and meticulous color reconstructions