History of American Wars: From 1745-1918

This is an exceptional book written by an exceptional historian. It is easy to read and written in the language of the layman. Superb general military history and background to all American wars that is a must on the shelf of any military historian or just someone who wants to understand the development of the American military. As a researcher in military history I found this book to have background information not only pertinent to many issues of military history but reading it enhanced my knowledge and understanding. Lastly, it is a very good read.

In The History of American Wars, T. Harry Williams takes us from the early wars of the colonies (The French and Indian War and skirmishes with the natives), through the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Civil War, and finally World War I. He differs from some other historians in that he is able to place the conflicts in their larger political and social context without getting bogged down in those areas. He writes enough about them to give you the broader picture and causal relationships, but not so much that the book starts to drag. Another aspect of this book that I enjoyed was the coverage he gives to the inter-war periods and attention to the broader development of weapons and tactics. Chapters on the interludes that followed the Civil War and Spanish American War are just as interesting and informative as those about the wars themselves. Williams is not just writing about interesting battles, he is showing how the United States developed as a nation and a military power through each conflict. Not only in its techincal ability and organizational approach to armed conflict, but in its attitudes and opinions about the armed forces and military intervention.