Army Exploration in the American West, 1803-1863

by William H. Goetzmann

Book Overview

First published in 1959, this book tells the story of the U.S. Army's role in the winning of the American West.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803270038
• ISBN13: 9780803270039
• Release Date: January 1979
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 489 Pages
• Weight: 1.55 lbs.

Customer Reviews

How the west was really won

This was required reading for a graduate course in the history of American military affairs. William Goetzmann's Army Exploration in the American West, is most interested in how the Corps' actions and experiments "had utility and meaning for the country as a whole," and he argues the entire nation's "total body of knowledge increased as a result of the army's work on the frontier. His evidence includes the army's involvement in surveying, mapping, and determining boundaries on the western frontier. Goetzmann's book also focuses on a specific topic, specifically on the Corps of Topographical Engineers' role in westward expansion. Goetzmann also conducts a quantitative analysis of how military spending contributed to the economic development of the frontier, specifically in the Southwest. Goetzmann's book is an excellent example of economic history, and he contends that between 1846 and 1861, "the army was the single most significant factor in the economic development of the Southwest." Goetzmann proves this assertion by showing the army's involvement in mining, agriculture, and ranching, and his work also explores how the army introduced money into the local market and fostered increased production. Goetzmann's book greatly contributes to our understanding of the army's involvement in the American West. Recommended reading for anyone interested in military history, and American history.

Absorbing!

We need more historians like William H. Goetzmann. Focusing on the history of the Army's Topographical Engineers we get a completely different view of the Cowboy's and Indians portrayal of the American West that Hollywood likes to keep repeating. Goetzmann shows that almost to a man, and despite many faults, these engineers, the cream of each West Point graduating class, made a most remarkable contribution to the exploration, definition and integration of the American West into the rest of the country at large. An extension of first the Executive branch and then subsequently of the Congress itself, these men not only defined what others claimed they saw, they scientifically refined what existed to a point where others, who could not see for themselves, could rely with the utmost confidence that things were as reported. Along the way, they influenced everything from much needed infrastructure changes such as road and bridge building, reconnaissance, railroad surveys, raw exploration, and map making to establishing frontier forts and our national boundaries themselves. These men accomplished for the United States what the English, French, Russians, Spanish and native peoples could not. They reported an accurate, scientifically based, in-depth understanding of what would be required to conquer and subdue a land that, from the beginning of time, had avoided and frustrated any and all attempts at civilization. This is the amazing story of the men who, more than any other single group, led in the development of the American West.