Autumn of the Black Snake tells how the early republic battled the coalition of Indians that came closer than any adversary, before or since, to halting the nation’s expansion. William Hogeland conjures up the woodland battles and the hardball politics that formed the Legion of the United States, the country’s first true standing army. His memorable portraits of soldiers and leaders on both sides—from the daring war chiefs Blue Jacket and Little Turtle to the doomed Richard Butler and a steely, even ruthless Washington—drive a tale of horrific violence, brilliant strategizing, stupendous blunders, and valorous deeds.
Nobody ever mentioned that aspect of history to me when I was growing up. It's like they all decided to gloss over the 200 year history of massacres and the failure of the colonial military to keep the settlers alive. All we got were the pilgrims, the Iriquois Federation and the Trail or Tears and in Alabama, mandatory state history that covered a rather enormous amount of the early history of the territory and the indians living there.
ReplyDelete