Uniforms, Arms, and Equipment: The U.S. Army on the Western Frontier 1880-1892

Here's something people here might be interested in. I previously posted elsewhere in regard to Douglas McChristian's new book, Uniforms, Arms, and Equipment: The U.S. Army on the Western Frontier 1880-1892.

Although this two-volume set has been out for awhile, the price tag has been a bit of a deterrent to me until now (it was a birthday gift)...I just bought and I have to say the volume of information is overwhelming!

This set is a follow-on to McChristian's earlier book which focused on the Army from 1870-1880 and it surpasses his earler work both for scope and depth. There's a lot of stuff I never knew about or was confused about and this book has gone a long way to filling in the gaps. I especially found his explaination of the marksmanship badges and how they were earned to be especially interesting.

I've just begun to examine it but I think I can safely say that if you're serious about recreating/reenacting the US Army of the 1880-1892 timeframe, you NEED to get this book. What's also interesting is reading about how some of the items were designed and the personalities of the personnel involved- sometimes, resistance to introducing a new item was simply a matter of "I don't like it, so there!".

McChristian also provides interesting details as to how equipment was marked and he contrasts what the "official" policy was versus what troops did out in the field. The pictures are also an excellent resource.