"Army Regulars on the Western Frontier 1848-1861" by Durwood Ball.

This is the greatest book I've ever read! Not many quality books have been written on life in the army during this time period it is usually the Civil War or way before that. It is easy to understand and tons of details are at your fingertips. It is a researchers dream come true! Packed with 320 pages of solid information that would take a long time to find some place else. The lengthy bibliography alone helped me. I was especially interested in learning about the forts along the Oregon Trail.
Deployed to posts from the Missouri River to the Pacific in 1848, the United States Army undertoo…