Throwing new light on its history, this deeply researched book explores a mulitplicity of themes. These include the social structure, command system and relationship with civil power which are all important in assessing its efficiency and behaviour in war; and the way the army is depicted in military literature and cinema which affects its social portrait.

Vistas of American military history / Brian Holden Reid -- Commanding generals and the question of civil control in the antebellum U.S. Army / William B. Skelton -- John M. Schofield and the 'multipurpose' army / Robert Wooster -- Part or apart : the alleged isolation of antebellum U.S. Army officers / Robert P. Wettemann, Jr. -- How the Army became accepted : West Point socialization, military accountability, and the nation-state during the Jacksonian Era / Samuel J. Watson -- Leaders for manifest destiny : American volunteer colonels serving in the U.S.-Mexican War / Joseph G. Dawson, III -- Soldiers of the pen : the literary careers of Richard Taylor, John Bell Hood, and W.H. Tunnard / Glenn Robins -- 'Romantic, isn't it, Miss Dandridge?' : sources and meanings of John Ford's Cavalry trilogy / Frank J. Wetta and Martin A. Novelli.