"The U.S. Army in the West, 1870-1880, "Douglas C. McChristian describes the development of army uniforms, equipment, and small arms during a pivotal decade of experimentation and against the backdrop of a highly influential military operation-the Indian campaigns in the West.
McChristian discusses the evolution of military clothing, equipment, and arms throughout the decade and fully describes each type of item and its modifications. Drawing much new information from the records of the Ordnance and Quartermaster departments, he also adds the human perspective with excerpts from previously unpublished 1875 field reports.
Lavishly illustrated with more than two hundred photographs gathered from public and private collections across the nation, this book is an invaluable reference for collectors, curators, and students of militaria and of the colorful frontier era.

Douglas C. McChristian (1947-2018) was a research historian for the National Park Service and a former National Park Service field historian at Fort Davis and Fort Laramie National Historic Sites and at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. He is the author of numerous books, including Fort Bowie, Arizona: Combat Post of the Southwest, 1858-1894 and Fort Laramie: Military Bastion of the High Plains.