Crimsoned Prairie

The majority of Marshall's books are written after interviewing soldiers who just got out of combat. He served as an official historian for the Pacific and European Theaters of Operations in World War II, Korea, and went to Vietnam as both an observer and an advisor. For obvious reasons, he could not question veterans of the Great Plaines Indian Wars. This book, therefore, is somewhat of a departure for Marshall. The main purpose of "Crimson Prairie" is to show what tactic worked and which did not. Discussing several battles, Marshall demonstrates that the United States Army was not prepared to engage in the gorilla-like fighting that the specialty of Native-Americans. Indeed, he shows that the white soldiers failed time and again in the face of superior tactics because they constantly underestimated their opponents and their training had not prepared them for fighting Native-Americans.Another aspect of "Crimson Prairie" concerns the idea that the white people were the sole aggressor in the Indian Wars. Marshall demonstrates that on a number of occasions Native-Americans acted as savagely and aggressively against non-threatening outposts. The author shows that the bloodshed was not as one-sided as many people believe. Marshall does not support or side with either side. Instead he uses an analytic and objective style that shows that both sides committed atrocities, although the Americans proved more aggressive and their abhorrent actions proved far more brutal than the Native-American's.For those who enjoy Marshall's work, this book is a must have. His expertise in dissecting operations is apparent throughout the pages and his prose, as always, is impeccable.