A nifty little book that should appeal to anyone interested in the post-civil war cavalryman, albeit a sixth month volunteer called out to assist in Indian "suppression". This is essentially a diary maintained by Mr. Spotts during his one-year enlistment in the 19th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry. This volunteer regiment was mustered into service in October of 1868, and was soon sent south in support of Custer's 7th Cavalry Regiment in it's winter campaign of 1868, which culminated in the Battle of the Washita.
The combat record of the 19th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry regiment can only be described as nearly nonexistant. No tales of glory here, but excellent details of the ordinary life of a trooper on campaign. Especially with the level of discipline and experience of six month volunteers in the snow, one finds out what fills the days and minds of these near-soldiers. Primarily, what the land looks like, what's to eat, what's to kill to eat, who managed to find hootch to get drunk, what's to eat, how to get out of "bad" work, what's "good" work, insubordination, desertion, what's to eat, and who's under arrest today.
It would almost be comical, yet the reader does come to understand that this man and his comrades were out there on the frontier, many times within striking distance of hostile natives, and during a winter campaign, very much at risk from weather and potential starvation. In the Kansas of their time, things could go very, very bad, very fast.
Mr Spotts managed to make it back to Kansas with a significant number of his comrades, and seemingly gained some insights into the true life of a soldier during his stint of "seeing the elephant", which the reader of this interesting account will undoubtedly profit from as well.