When General Stephen Watts Kearny's Army of the West marched into Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 18, 1846, Richard Smith Elliott, a young Missouri volunteer, was included in its ranks. In addition to Lieutenant Elliott's duties in the Laclede Rangers, he served as a regular correspondent to the St. Louis Reveille. An entertaining and educated observer, Elliott provided readers back home with an account of the grueling march over the famous Santa Fe Trail, the triumphant entry of the army into Santa Fe, the U.S. occupation of New Mexico, and the volunteers' eventual return to St. Louis. Noted southwestern scholars Mark L. Gardner and Marc Simmons present here, for the first time, all of Elliott's letters published in the Reveille under his nom-de-plume, John Brown, using passages from his autobiography for the same period to fill in a break resulting from a few missing letters. Also included are Elliott's literary sketches, drawn from his Mexican War experiences and the people he met and served with. The editors' introduction and comprehensive notes provide insight into Elliott's political, social, and literary milieu and into the historical background of the people and places he portrayed. Elliott's correspondence invokes the hopes and fears of the men, the drudgery and hardship of the long march to Santa Fe, and the comraderie of the troops. Including details of the resistance to U.S. occupation, the bloody Taos Revolt, and the military campaign that crushed the insurgents, Richard Smith Elliott's writings provide a fascinating firsthand account of the American Southwest during perhaps its most tumultuous period.

When General Stephen Watts Kearny's Army of the West marched into Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 18, 1846, Richard Smith Elliott, a young Missouri volunteer, was included in its ranks. In addition to Lieutenant Elliott's duties in the Laclede Rangers, he served as a regular correspondent to the St. Louis Reveille. An entertaining and educated observer, Elliott provided readers back home with an account of the grueling march over the famous Santa Fe Trail, the triumphant entry of the army into Santa Fe, the U.S. occupation of New Mexico, and the volunteers' eventual return to St. Louis.Noted southwestern scholars Mark L. Gardner and Marc Simmons present here, for the first time, all of Elliott's letters published in the Reveille under his nom-de-plume, John Brown, using passages from his autobiography for the same period to fill in a break resulting from a few missing letters. Also included are Elliott's literary sketches, drawn from his Mexican War experiences and the people he met and served with.

"Stagecoach West" is a comprehensive history of stagecoaching west of the Missouri. Starting with the evolution of overland passenger transportation, Moody moves on to paint a lively and informative picture of western stagecoaching, from its early short runs through its rise with the gold rush, its zenith of 1858-68, and beyond. Its story is one of grand rivalries, political chicanery, and gaudy publicity stunts, traders, fortune hunters, outlaws, courageous drivers, and indefatigable detectives. We meet colorful characters such as Charlie Parkhurst, a stagecoach driver who took an amazing secret to his death: "he" was actually a woman. Using contemporary accounts, illustrations, maps, and photographs to flesh out his narrative, Moody creates one of the most important accounts of transportation history to date.

In 1839 a journalist for the New Orleans Picayune, Matthew C. Field, joined a company of merchants and tourists headed west on the Santa Fe Trail. Leaving Independence, Missouri, early in July "with a few wagons and a carefree spirit," Field recorded his vivid impressions of travel westward on the Santa Fe Trail and, on the return trip, eastward along the Cimarron Route. Written in verse in his journal and in eighty-five articles later published in the Picayune, Field's observations offer the modern reader a unique glimpse of life in the settlements of Mexico and on the Santa Fe Trail.

James Josiah Webb left Independence, Missouri, in the summer of 1844 and headed down the Santa Fe Trail with goods bought in St. Louis. Although his first venture as a trader was a failure, he eventually made a fortune as a merchant in Santa Fe. Webb recorded his youthful experiences in 1888, and Ralph P. Bieber, a respected scholar and researcher on western expansion, edited and annotated his journal for publication more than forty years later. Long out of print, "Adventures in the Santa Fe Trade" is an entertaining and important source of first-hand information about the Santa Fe Trail and trade; trappers, Mexicans, and Indian tribes of the Old Southwest; and the impact of the Mexican War on southwestern trade.

Using Cheyenne and Arapaho accounts, Charles J. Brill tells the story of General George Armstrong Custer's winter campaign on the southern plains in 1868-69, including his attack in Black Kettle's village on the snowy backs of the Washita River. Brill's searing account details the ruthlessness of the U.S. Army's efforts to punish southern plains tribes for what they considered incessant raiding and depredation. Brill provides the Indian point of view as he follows Custer into a battle that remains controversial to the present day.

In a new foreword to this edition, Mark L. Gardner discusses the significance of Brill's history-placing it in context with other Custer and Indian Wars studies-and its Value to scholars and general readers today. Gardner also provides an overview of the career of Oklahoma journalist Charles J. Brill, much of whose life has remained a mystery until now.

In 1908 a local rancher and surveyor by the name of N Howard 'Jack' Thorp walked into the cramped offices of the Estancia News in Estancia, New Mexico, and inquired of the printer about publishing a small book of 'cowboy songs'. For at least nineteen years, Thorp had sought out cowboy ballads and poems from across the west -- from New Mexico and Texas to Wyoming and Utah, and had written a few ditties himself. The finished volume, printed for just six cents a copy, included twenty-three songs and was the first book published devoted exclusively to cowboy songs. Thorp is recognised for being the first person to take a serious interest in collecting and preserving the ballads penned by ranchers to calm cattle on the range. This new edition of an oft-reprinted classic features an essay by western historian and musician Mark Gardner, and line illustrations by noted western artists and rancher Ron Kil. Included with the book is a CD of a recording of a selection of songs and poems taken from both the original 1908 edition and 1921 expanded second edition. In their renditions, Gardner and Rex Rideout recreate the historic music preserved by Thorp with vintage instruments and authentic styles.