Books by "William H. Leckie"
7 books found
Cheyennes at Dark Water Creek tells the tragic story of the southern bands of Cheyennes from the period following the Treaty of Medicine Lodge through the battles and skirmishes known as the Red River War. The Battle of Sappa Creek, the last encounter of that conflict, was a fight between a band of Cheyennes and a company of the Sixth Cavalry that took place in Kansas in April 1875. More Cheyennes were killed in that single engagement than in all the previous fighting of the war combined, and later there were controversial charges of massacre-and worse. William Y. Chalfant has used all known contemporaneous sources to recound the tragedy that occurred at the place known to the Cheyennes as Dark Water Creek. In Cheyenne memories, its name remains second only to Sand Creek in the terrible images and the sorrow it evokes. Chalfant tells the story in a sweeping style that recreates Cheyenne life on the southern plains. Beyond examining firsthand and secoundary accounts in detail, the author personally retraced the route of the army detachment from Fort Wallace, Kansas, to the battle site at Sappa Creek, and the route of the Cheyennes from Punished Women’s Fork to the Sappa. His recounting of the lives of the Indian and military participants, both leading up to and following the battle, is sure to appeal both to scholars of the Indian wars and to the general reader.
The Black Regulars, 1866–1898
by William A. Dobak, Thomas D. Phillips
2017 · University of Oklahoma Press
Black soldiers first entered the regular army of the United States in the summer of 1866. While their segregated regiments served in the American West for the following three decades, the promise of Reconstruction gave way to the repressiveness of Jim Crow. But black men found a degree of equality in the service: the army treated them no worse than it did their white counterparts. The Black Regulars uses army correspondence, court-martial transcripts, and pension applications to tell who these men were, often in their own words: how they were recruited and how their officers were selected; how the black regiments survived hostile congressional hearings and stringent budget cuts; how enlisted men spent their time, both on and off duty; and how regimental chaplains tried to promote literacy through the army’s schools. The authors shed new light on the military justice system, relations between black troops and their mostly white civilian neighbors, their professional reputations, and what veterans faced when they left the army for civilian life.
This overview explores the use of black people, either through coercion or enticement, in the armed forces of predominantly white societies in times of crisis when the supply of white soldiers was exhausted or when whites refused to fill the ranks of a wartime army. A chronological review, the study begins with references to Biblical armies and ends with the technological environment of the modern world, looking at how blacks were employed, exploited or rewarded for their service over the centuries. While the balance sheet is mixed, military institutions have proven to be leaders in integration and equality for blacks both in the United States and in Europe. Inequality still exists in the modern American military; however, the authors contend, it is more likely to be based upon educational disparities than on the color of a soldier's skin. African American soldiers played a significant role in the creation and expansion of the United States. The authors write about conquistadors who utilized blacks as soldier slaves. They recount the stories of the black men who fought during the Revolutionary War. They detail the experience of the Buffalo Soldiers in securing and protecting the western wilderness and follow the black soldier fighting alongside Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. From the decks of the battleship ^IMaine^R to the Philippine Islands, from the hills of Vietnam and the deserts of the Middle East, and, finally, to the all-volunteer army, this book reveals the impact that black soldiers have made on American history.
This is the life story of Sergeant Thomas Boyne, a native of Prince George's County, Maryland, who joined the 2nd Light Artillery Company "B" of the United States Colored Troops at Point Lookout, Maryland, on February 5, 1864 and went on to receive our nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor, while serving in the 9th United States Cavalry during the Indian Wars. This is also the story of Boyne's comrades-African-American Buffalo Soldiers and the officers who commanded his various assigned units-who helped to open and preserve the West while performing their military duty for their country. This is a story that needs to be told. The integration of official government records, historical events, and newspaper articles enhance this comprehensive look at the struggles endured by Sergeant Thomas Boyne, and other African-Americans who served their country during this period. Sergeant Thomas Boyne's entire military career is covered in precise detail. Careful transcriptions of original muster rolls for the period covered include: Muster Roll Records and Returns for Company "B" 2nd Light Artillery United States Colored Troops, Company "K" 40th United States Infantry and Company "F" 25th United States Infantry, Company "C" 9th United States Cavalry, Company "L" 9th United States Cavalry, and Company "H" 25th United States Infantry. Specific details from a variety of pertinent documents, orders, acts, and news articles; as well as an abundance of names, numerous vintage photographs, illustrations, a bibliography, and an every name index make this book a MUST for historians and genealogists.
Weir's work (over 300 entries) is one of the most complete on the subject. Much more than a record of indviduals and units, it includes, among other topics, battles, forgotten and famous; injustices and heroes; legislation and regulation; accidents and deliberate acts; medals and mutinies....Highly recommended. --ChoiceAn outstanding accounting of African-American Military 'heroes' in history. As a retired African-American 4-Star General Officer, I was very pleased to read about the accounts of those to whom I owe much gratitude and thanks for paving the way ! I was even more pleased to read about so many that I knew nothing about previously . This 'Encyclopedia' is must reading in the reference libraries for all Americans! --General [USAF-retired] Lester L. Lyles...No military historian's library should be without this book. --C.D.B. Bryan, author of Friendly FireThis is a very important, carefully researched book, which fills the gaping hole in our understanding of the heroic role of African Americans in the military history of our country. Though they were denied their rights to freedom and equality by our nation, their courage and patriotism in protecting those rights was extraordinary. - Bruce A. Morrison, member of U.S. Congress, 1983-1991Although African American soldiers and sailors have fought in every U.S. war from the War of Independence to the War on Terrorism, their contributions are rarely and, at best, erratically recorded in encyclopedias of American military history. Most Americans would be hard-pressed to name even a few of the many heroic black servicemen, who have distinguished themselves in the annals of military history. While a public figure like Colin Powell is well known, and many people are now aware of the black regiment depicted in the movie Glory, few have heard of David Lamson. When he was close to sixty years old, this African American captain of a small local militia successfully routed British reinforcements near Concord at the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Even fewer know about the buffalo soldiers (as African American cavalry units were once called) who rescued Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders in the famous battle of San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War. This book is teeming with essential information that has been overlooked in other references.William Weir's Encyclopedia of African American Military History is designed to provide long overdue recognition to the outstanding accomplishments of hundreds of African American servicemen. More than three hundred entries will not only delineate the achievements of individuals and military units, but will also highlight important, often forgotten battles, wars, legislation and policy, organizations and movements, and historical incidents.Thoroughly researched and historically accurate, with numerous illustrations, this comprehensive and substantive reference work is written to be accessible, engaging, and informative for all readers.William Weir (Guilford, CT), an army combat correspondent during the Korean War, is the author of Written with Lead: Legendary American Gunfights and Gunfighters and A Well Regulated Militia: The Battle over Gun Control, among other books.
Without Quarter is the story of the first major U.S. army expedition against the Comanches between the Mexican and Civil wars. Chalfant first sets the historical context, then traces events to the climax at Crooked Creek on May 13, 1859.