Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of American military affairs. Francis Paul Prucha's Broadax and Bayonet: The Role of the United States Army in the Development of the Northwest 1815-1860 is the first major work devoted to the notion of the frontier army as a multipurpose entity that served the federal government's expansionist interests. Prucha explains to the reader that his study is not a traditional military history in the sense that it does not focus on "wars and campaigns, strategy and tactics, nor organizational and administrative techniques." Rather, Prucha realized the need for a study on the "non-military services of frontier soldiers," and he contends these activities merit historians' attention because they "protected, restricted, [and] encouraged other enterprises on the frontier." This work also emphasizes the idea that the frontier army carried out the federal government's expansionist policies, particularly in the realms of technological improvements, scientific achievements, and in the general development of the West.
Prucha's Broadax and Bayonet clearly laid the foundations for Michael L. Tate's The Frontier Army, and this becomes more apparent from a comparison of the chapters in each work. Prucha focuses on the military's role in policing the frontier, its agricultural endeavors and experiments, its contribution to the development of roads and transportation, and even the scientific accomplishments of the army during this period. All of these topics are explored by Tate, so it is clear that he views Prucha's work as one of the authoritative texts on the multipurpose frontier army. Prucha's contribution to this field does not end with Broadax and Bayonet, he expanded on his research by publishing The Sword of the Republic: The United States Army on the Frontier, 1783-1846.
Recommended reading for anyone interested in military history, and American history.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Broadax and Bayonet: The Role of the United States Army in the Development of the Northwest, 1815-1860
"In a style that is clear, unhurried and . . . vigorous, Francis P. Prucha has written a definitive study of [the] frontier army that was itself a pioneer. It pushed the line of occupation far beyond settlements. It raised crops, herded cattle, cut timber, quarried stone, built sawmills and performed the manifold duties of pioneers. It restrained lawless traders, pursued fugitives, ejected squatters, maintained order during peace negotiations and guarded Indians who came to receive annuities."-New York Times Book Review "A work of original research which stands almost alone in relating the Army's work to the peaceful processes of territorial expansion and social development. Studying the thirteen army posts established in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and northern Illinois, the author demonstrates their importance for Indian and land policy administration, as cash markets for the early settlers, and as centers of exploration, road-building, and cultural developments."-A Guide to the Study of the United States of America "Well-written. . . . a significant contribution to the study of . . . both the westward movement and our military establishment."-Mississippi Valley Historical Review
