My Life on the Plains or Personal Experiences With Indians: Custer's Memoir of His Campaigns Against the Indian Tribes of the Western Plains

Custer, General George Armstrong

ISBN 10: 1846779618 / ISBN 13: 9781846779619

Edité par Leonaur Ltd, 2010

A propos de cet article

N° de réf. du vendeur 8711530-n

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: My Life on the Plains or Personal Experiences With Indians: Custer's Memoir of His Campaigns Against the Indian Tribes of the Western Plains
• Éditeur: Leonaur Ltd
• Date de parution: 2010
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 1846779618
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9781846779619
• Reliure: Couverture souple
• État de l'article: New

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

The memoirs of the most famous American cavalryman

Those who pursue fame are occasionally fated to acquire it for reasons other than those of their ambitions. So it is with George Armstrong Custer who is principally renowned for being swiftly eradicated with most of his command on the final day of his career in the 'last stand' on the Little Big Horn. That end has been made the more ignominious since there is an abiding view that he was responsible for it. There was, inevitably, much more to the man than this and whilst his passions for fame, status and glory are acknowledged, the fact remains that Custer was a dashing, brave, dynamic officer whose deeds-particularly during the Civil War-had raised him to high rank with meteoric speed. He was an exceptional soldier and personality in a time and place where the unexceptional was the norm. This book, Custer's own account of his Indian Wars is, like any other memoir, not devoid of the bias, ego and hubris of the author. Nevertheless, it is singular for there was only one George Armstrong Custer and he has joined the legendary ranks of the outstanding characters of the American West. This is a fascinating insight into the mind and experiences of 'the man' and is essential reading for every enthusiast of the history of the period.

Présentation de l'éditeur

The Galaxy, a brief description of the country in which these events transpired may not be deemed inappropriate. It is but a few years ago that every schoolboy, supposed to possess the rudiments of a knowledge of the geography of the United States, could give the boundaries and a general description of the Great American Desert. 3,to the boundary the knowledge seemed to be quite explicit: on the north bounded by the Upper Missouri, on the east by the Lower Missouri and Mississippi, on the south by Texas, and on the west by the Rocky Mountains. The boundaries on the northwest and south remained undisturbed, while on the east civilization, propelled and directed by Yankee enterprise, adopted the motto, Westward the star of empire takes its way. Countless throngs of emigrants crossed the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, selecting homes in the rich and fertile territories lying beyond. Each year this tide of emigration, strengthened and increased by the flow from foreign shores, advanced to Avard the setting sun, slowly but surely narrowing the preconceived limits of the Great American Desert, and correspondingly enlarging the limits of civilization. At last the geographical myth was dispelled. It was gradually discerned that the Great American Desert did not exist, that it had no abiding place, but that within its supposed limits, and instead of what had been regarded as a sterile and unfruitful tract of land, incapable of sustaining either man or beast, there existed the fairest and richest portion of the national domain, blessed with a climate pure, bracing, and healthful, while its undeveloped soil rivalled if it did not surpass the most productive portions of the Eastern, Middle, or Southern States. Discarding the name Great American Desert, this immense tract of country, with its eastern boundary moved back by civilization to a distance of nearly three hun
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)