Review of "Bluecoats: The U. S. Army in the West 1848-1897," by John P. Langellier

Review of

Bluecoats: The U. S. Army in the West 1848-1897, by John P. Langellier ISBN 1853672211


Five out of five stars

No question the author is an expert in the subject

 While I personally have little interest in the history of military uniforms, I also know that there are people that are diligent in their study. Only a few pages into this book, it is clear that the author is an expert. Photos of soldiers posed in their military uniforms are given with detailed textual explanations of what is right and wrong with their clothing and accoutrements. George Custer appears in at least two of them. Pay was poor for the soldiers on the frontier and the uniforms were often ill-fitting and uncomfortable. Therefore, the soldiers often made do with what else they may have, and the author explains the discrepancies.

 If you have any level of interest in what the American soldiers in the west wore in the last half of the nineteenth century, this book is one of the first places you should look.