Ron Field - Böcker

An engaging range of period texts and theme books for AS and A Level history. This book examines the theme of Civil Rights in America between 1865 and 1980. The long struggle for black equality and full citizenship is traced from the period of reconstruction after the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The rights of other minority groups such as Native Americans, Chicanos and Asian Americans are also given full consideration, as is the 'rights revolution' of the Cold War period, which involved the campaign for women's rights and the development of Gay rights. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary sources.

An investigative history course directly accessible to all pupils at Key Stage 3. Each book provides teachers with all the material they require to develop fully their pupils' historical knowledge, skills and understanding.

Fascinating story of the race to be the first nation to develop unmanned guided flying bombs

A gripping account of the fighting between cavalry of the Union and Confederate armies at small-unit level. This book presents new insights on the role of cavalry in the age of massed infantry gunfire and is augmented, as usual, with stunning Osprey artwork.During the intense, sprawling conflict that was the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces fielded substantial numbers of cavalry, which carried out the crucial tasks of reconnaissance, raiding, and conveying messages. The perception was that cavalry’s effectiveness on the battlefield would be drastically reduced in this age of improved infantry firearms.This book, however, demonstrates how cavalry’s lethal combination of mobility and dismounted firepower meant it was still very much a force to be reckoned with in battle, and charts the swing in the qualitative difference of the cavalry forces fielded by the two sides as the war progressed.Alongside stunning artwork, three fierce cavalry actions of the American Civil War are assessed, including the battles of Second Bull Run/Manassas (1862), Buckland Mills (1863) and Tom’s Brook (1864).

From an internationally renowned expert on US history, this highly illustrated title details the curtain-closing campaign of the American Civil War in the East.Ulysses S Grant's Army of the Potomac and Robert E Lee's Army of Northern Virginia faced up to one another one last time, resulting in Lee conducting a desperate series of withdrawals and retreats down the line of the Richmond and Danville Railroad, hoping to join forces with General Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee.This book, with informative full-colour illustrations and maps, tells the full story of the skirmishes and pursuits that led directly to Lee's surrender, as his frantic efforts to extricate his forces from ever more perilous positions became increasingly untenable.

Following the discovery of gold deposits, in December 1875 the US Government ordered the indigenous population of the Black Hills in what is now South Dakota and Wyoming, the Sioux, to return to the Great Sioux Reservation.When the Sioux refused, the US Army sent forces into the area, sparking a conflict that would make Lieutenant Colonel George Custer, Chief Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and others household names around the world.Examining a series of engagements in the Black Hills War, including Rosebud, Little Bighorn, and Slim Buttes, this fully illustrated study assesses the forces fighting on both sides in this momentous campaign, casting light on the origins, tactics, armament, and battlefield performance of the US Cavalry and their Sioux opponents at the height of the Indian Wars.

During the 19th century, US forces confronted the Seminole people in a series of bitter wars over the fate of Florida.After the refusal of the Seminoles to move west to the Creek Reservation in Mississippi, the US government sent troops to bring Florida under federal control, marking the beginning of the Second Seminole War. On December 28, 1835, troops led by Major Francis Langhorne Dade were ambushed and massacred en route to Fort King.Two years of guerrilla warfare ensued, as the Seminoles evaded the US forces sent to defeat them. Ordered to hunt down the Seminoles, a US force led by Colonel Zachary Taylor incurred heavy losses at the battle of Lake Okeechobee (December 25, 1837), but the Seminoles were forced to withdraw. At the battle of the Loxahatchee River (January 24, 1838), forces led by Major General Thomas S. Jesup encountered a large group of Seminoles and met them with overwhelming numbers and greater firepower.Despite their stubborn efforts to resist the US military, the Seminoles were defeated and Florida became a state of the Union in 1845. This fully illustrated study assesses the forces fighting on both sides, casting light on the tactics, weaponry, and combat record of the Seminole warriors and their US opponents during the Second Seminole War.

Featuring specially commissioned artwork and archive illustrations, this engrossing study describes the US Marine Corps’ early operations and illustrates its evolving uniforms and personal equipment.The US Marine Corps’ uniforms, personal equipment, insignia, and weaponry are all described and illustrated in this book, complemented by a succinct history of the Marines’ military record from their beginnings to the eve of the American Civil War, by which time the US Marine Corps had established itself as a small but vitally important part of the United States’ armed forces.Organized in 1775, the first American Marines distinguished themselves throughout the American Revolutionary War, and even raided mainland Britain before being disbanded in 1783. Reestablished in 1798, the US Marine Corps fought in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, both at sea and on land. The years after 1815 saw the Corps involved in a wide variety of conflicts, from the Seminole Wars to the Mexican–American War; Marines even reached China and Japan. As the prospect of civil war began to threaten the United States, a small battalion of Marines was responsible for the capture of abolitionist John Brown at Harper’s Ferry on October 18, 1859. The diverse operations and evolving appearance of the Marines are captured in this absorbing study from an acknowledged authority on US military costume.

Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork and mapping plus carefully chosen archive illustrations, many in color, this lively study investigates the Mexican soldiers and Texian volunteers who fought one another in three key battles during the Texas Revolution.Following unrest throughout Mexico, in 1835 a revolt began in Texas among the Anglophone and Tejano-speaking settlers, known as Texians. Having retreated after their defeat at Bexar in December 1835, Mexican troops were ordered to re-occupy Texas in early 1836. In this volume, US military history expert Ron Field explores in detail three key battles that ensued. From February 23, Mexican forces besieged the Texian forces at the Alamo at San Antonio de Bexar; in the subsequent battle on March 6, almost all of the Texian defenders were killed. On March 19, forces en route to join the main Texian army were surrounded by Mexican troops at Coleto Creek. Following their surrender, about 340 Texian prisoners were shot by Mexican soldiers in what became known as the Goliad Massacre. On April 21, a Texian force launched a surprise attack on a larger Mexican army near the San Jacinto River, the decisive Texian victory that resulted is the third battle to be investigated in this study.Featuring full-color artwork and maps and drawing upon the latest research, this book investigates the fighting men of both sides at the Alamo, Coleto Creek, and the San Jacinto River, casting light on the doctrine, tactics, weaponry, and combat record of the Texian and Mexican combatants who clashed in the first weeks of the emerging Republic of Texas.

This fully illustrated study investigates the uniforms and equipment of the US regular troops and volunteers from the territories fighting for the Union during the American Civil War.During the American Civil War, the United States Army, pitted against the forces of the fledgling Confederacy, fought to defend and preserve the Union during five long years of bitter conflict. This volume describes and illustrates the uniforms, insignia and personal equipment of the Union Army's regular infantry, artillery, cavalry, and engineers, plus specialists such as US Sharpshooters, Veteran Reserve Corps, Medical Corps, and Signal Corps.This volume also covers the troops fielded by the Territories that fought for the Union. Eight plates of original artwork showing officers and enlisted men of the Union Army are complemented by previously unpublished photographs of soldiers and items of uniform from some of the most comprehensive collections in the United States.

This book describes and illustrates the uniforms and personal equipment of the troops fielded by the Eastern and New England states that fought for the Union during the American Civil War.During 1861–65, the United States Army, pitted against the forces of the fledgling Confederacy, fought to defend the Union during five long years of bitter conflict. This volume, the second in a three-part study, chronicles the clothing, insignia and gear worn by the soldiers fielded by 12 of the states that fought to preserve the Union.While uniforms conforming to standard Union Army patterns were widely issued to these troops, some wore distinctive items of dress or insignia, and a wide variety of weapons were carried. Ron Field, an acknowledged authority on US military apparel, reveals how the Eastern and New England states clothed and equipped their regiments during the Civil War. Eight plates of original artwork showing officers and enlisted men of the Union Army are complemented by photographs of soldiers and items of uniform from a variety of sources.

This book describes and illustrates the uniforms and personal equipment of the troops fielded by the Midwestern and Western states that fought for the Union during the Civil War.During the American Civil War, the United States Army, pitted against the forces of the fledgling Confederacy, fought to defend and preserve the Union during five long years of bitter conflict. As the war continued into 1862 and beyond, both sides mobilized huge numbers of troops, necessitating a massive expansion of military logistics in order to clothe, equip and feed the soldiers as they fought on a variety of fronts, from California to Virginia.This volume, the third in a three-part study, describes and illustrates the uniforms, insignia and personal equipment of the soldiers fielded by the Midwestern and Western states for the Union cause. While the majority of these troops were infantry, substantial numbers of artillery, cavalry and other specialists such as riflemen and engineers were also sent to fight the Confederate armies. Eight plates of original artwork showing officers and enlisted men of the Union Army are complemented by rare photographs depicting soldiers and items of uniform from some of the most comprehensive collections in the United States.

Reveals the tactics, technologies, and specially raised units at the heart of the Union’s conduct of combined operations in the American Civil War.During the Civil War, as well as confronting the Confederates on land, the Union forces mounted several ambitious amphibious operations, both on the coast and along the banks of the great rivers. In this book, renowned historian Ron Field explains how the growing effectiveness of the Union Navy, the willingness of the Union Army to countenance combined operations, and the efforts of officers such as Ambrose Burnside, David Farragut, and John Dahlgren, ensured that amphibious warfare played a key part in the defeat of the South.In May 1862, foreshadowed by the capture of Roanoke Island and New Bern in North Carolina and Island Number Ten on the Mississippi River, the Union forces’ use of combined operations to seize New Orleans dealt a major blow to the Confederacy. The potential of amphibious warfare was revealed by the Union efforts to capture Fort Fisher in North Carolina. While the initial attempt failed in December 1864, a renewed effort in January 1865 resulted in a Union victory. Fully illustrated, this study investigates the amphibious tactics and technologies adopted by the Union forces during the Civil War, and the units raised and equipped to conduct combined operations.

This absorbing study casts light on the tactics, technologies, and specially raised units involved in siege operations during the American Civil War.Remembered for its bloody pitched battles, the American Civil War also witnessed a substantial number of hard-fought actions involving fortified locations, ranging from the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861 to the drawn-out siege of Petersburg in 1864–65. The crucial role played by major centers such as Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Suffolk, Virginia, meant that both sides had to develop and refine their siege warfare techniques, harnessing the latest technologies in attack and defense.In this study, renowned historian Ron Field reviews the conduct of siege operations during the Civil War. He assesses the various artillery pieces used in siege warfare, considers the evolving role of siege-warfare specialist units, and discusses the effectiveness of the two sides’ approaches to the application of bombardment, mining, tunneling, and direct assault. The insightful text is complemented by carefully chosen archive images and eight specially commissioned artwork plates depicting the tactics and technologies employed by the Union and Confederate armies.

On April 15th 1861, the day after the fall of Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to enlist for three months’ service to defend the Union.This 90-day period proved entirely unrealistic and was followed by further, and much more extensive, mobilizations. Despite this, for the first few months the defence of the Capitol depended heavily on a hastily gathered, but extremely loyal, army of militiamen and volunteers. Mostly inexperienced, poorly trained, weakly officered, and provided with motley uniforms, equipment and weapons, they bought the Union time during the vital first months.Through a wide range of period sources, this book describes and illustrates the actual appearance of this diverse and colorful force, including photographs, eyewitness accounts in period newspapers and letters, the reports of government agents, and the records of the many manufacturers who received orders to clothe and equip their state troops.

Men from all over North America and beyond – whether regulars, volunteers, or draftees – found themselves fighting for their lives on a host of bloody battlefields during the Civil War.The enthusiastic but largely inexperienced soldiers serving on both sides had to adapt quickly to the appalling realities of warfare in the industrial age. Author Ron Field, an authority on the Civil War, investigates three clashes that illustrate the changing realities of combat.Pitched into combat after an exhausting march to reach the battlefield, newly recruited infantrymen of both sides clashed at First Bull Run/Manassas in 1861.Two years later, the outcome of the Civil War’s pivotal battle at Gettysburg hung in the balance as the Confederate veterans of Pickett’s Division mounted a set-piece attack on Union positions at ‘The Bloody Angle’. In 1864, African-American troops fighting for the Union took part in a bloody assault on formidable Confederate positions at Chaffin’s Farm/New Market Heights, outside Petersburg.This absorbing study casts light on what it was like to take part in close-quarters battle during the Civil War, as increased infantry firepower and an increasing reliance on prepared defensive positions spelled the end of close-order tactics in the conflict that shaped America.

The role of the Frontier scout in the US Army during the period of expansion to the West, was often far more important than that of the commanding officer himself. They possessed a priceless knowledge of the geography, people and characteristics of the great, unknown American hinterland and from the earliest days of exploration, the US Army depended on its scouts to guide them across the plains and through the mountains as they guarded the nation's frontier settlements. This book looks at these scouts, covering their organization, uniform, and weapons and includes details of many famous scouts such as 'Wild Bill' Hikock and 'Buffalo Bill' Cody.

African-American soldiers played a decisive role in the US Army on the western frontier during the Plains Wars. First authorised by Congress in July 1866, they were organised into two cavalry and four infantry regiments, which were commanded by white officers. All were quickly nicknamed the 'Buffalo Soldiers' by their Cheyenne and Comanche enemies. These brave soldiers fought many native tribes over the years, including the warriors of Sitting Bull and Geronimo. This book tells the story of these buffalo soldiers who, until the early 1890s, constituted 20 per cent of all active forces on duty in the American West.

Like the other branches of US military service, the Marine Corps was crippled by resignations as men went south to join Confederate forces at the beginning of the Civil War in 1861. Although few enlisted men quit, 20 officers out of a total of 63 either resigned or were dismissed. They included some of the Corp's most able men, and all but one of these served in the Confederate States Marine Corps at some time during the war. This title looks at the Marines on both sides during the American Civil War. It examines their history, weapons, uniforms, equipment and battle experiences.

A major period of westward expansion took place in the United States during the first half of the 19th century. The task of protecting the settlers from the Native American tribes that inhabited the Great Plains fell to the US Army, and to do this they constructed a network of permanent forts and temporary camps. By 1867, there were 116 forts and camps on the frontier, and 36 of these were on the northern and central plains. This title takes a close look at how and why these particular forts were built, their design and defensive features, and details the pivotal role they played in the settlement of the American West.

The Southern states which formed the Confederacy in 1861 fielded many units of volunteer troops wearing a remarkably wide variety of uniforms, many of which reflected foreign influences. In a spirit of independence, many states also issued their own uniform regulations on the outbreak of the war between the States, and these non-standard uniforms were often retained until well into the course of the war. This first of a series of six titles draws on archival and pictorial evidence to bring to life the troops of South Carolina and Mississippi, and is illustrated with early photographic portraits along with superb color artwork from Richard Hook.

The Southern states of the Confederacy in 1861 fielded many units of volunteer troops who wore a remarkably wide variety of uniforms, often reflecting foreign influences. In the spirit of independence, many states also issued their own uniform regulations at the outbreak of the War Between the States, and these non-standard uniforms were often retained until well into the course of the war. This second of a series of six titles studies the archival and pictorial evidence for the troops of Florida, Alabama and Georgia, and is largely illustrated with fascinating early photographic portraits.

The American Civil War saw a massive development in the use of land and field fortifications. This book, the second in a sequence of four, studies the many forms of land and field fortifications used during the War Between the States. It considers some of the 70 land fortifications erected to defend Washington DC during the first few months of the war. It covers lunettes, advanced redoubts, rifle pits, redan lines, bomb-proof shelters, covered ways, and powder magazines among others. The daily experiences of the soldiers in the trenches are also covered in this detailed and authoritative volume.

The segregated regiments of African-American troops represented an important minority in the small US Army at the turn of the 20th century. Units saw service in the Spanish-American War, in the Philippines jungle until 1902 and during the Mexican border campaign of 1916. Finally, in France 1917-18, black units suffered nearly 6,000 casualties, and four regiments were cited for their bravery. Despite suffering racial discrimination, they served with courage and discipline. This book covers the often ignored part of the Buffalo soldiers in these campaigns and the several different field uniforms worn during this period.

Contrary to the image portrayed by Hollywood, the infantry played as great a part in the Indian Wars of the 1860s-80s, and were more consistently successful than their more famous counterparts in the Cavalry. The great Paiute War of 1866, where the infantry of the most renowned Indian-fighting general, George Cook, excelled in battle, together with the role of other infantry units in the final subjugation of Geronimo's Apaches in 1886, are but two instances of their achievements. Featuring their involvement in the legendary battles of Wounded Knee and Wolf Mountains, this narrative presents an illustrated history of these critical but overlooked soldiers of the Indian Wars, culminating in the eventual "closing" of the American Frontier in 1890 and the final conquest of the indigenous inhabitants of North America.

The states of the Confederacy in 1861 fielded many units of volunteer troops wearing a remarkably wide variety of uniforms, often reflecting foreign influences. In a spirit of independence, many states also issued their own uniform regulations on the outbreak of the War Between the States, and these non-standard uniforms were often retained until well into the course of the war. The cosmopolitan history of these Gulf states led to a wide range of influences from France, Italy, Germany and Mexico on their uniforms. This book studies the archival and pictorial evidence for the infantry, cavalry and artillery of Louisiana and Texas, featuring illustrations and fascinating early photographic portraits.

Despite modern perceptions of the overwhelming image of Confederate soldiers dressed in their classic battledress gray, the Southern states which formed the Confederacy in 1861 fielded many units of volunteer troops wearing a remarkably wide variety of uniforms, often reflecting foreign influences. In a spirit of independence, many states also issued their own uniform regulations on the outbreak of the war; and these non-standard uniforms were often retained. This fourth title, part of a series of six titles, studies the archival and pictorial evidence for the infantry, cavalry and artillery of Virginia - the heart of the Confederacy and its richest, most populous and militarily strongest state; and of Arkansas, which despite its much smaller population fielded several interesting units.

During the 1840s, the rarely visited Great American Desert of the Southern Plains and Southwest became part of the inexorable westward expansion, as European traders and settlers headed overland from the eastern seaboard. The traditional lands of the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminole Indians were quickly absorbed, and the rapid advance of the frontier soon brought the white man into conflict with the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache and Navajo tribes. Numerous posts and forts were built to protect trading posts and settlers, and to police the Indian reservations. This title explores the design and development of these sites, the life of the garrisons that manned them, and the clashes with Native American warriors such as Geronimo, Manuelito and Quanah Parker.