The Horse in War

Felber, Bill. The Horse In War. Part of the Horse Library series. 2002. 64p. ISBN 978-0-7910-6651-7. Available at 357 FEL on the library shelves.

Horses have been used in war for thousands of years, but it wasn't until the Egyptians that a force of horsemen was organized to assist the army. The cavalry filled a need for speed, but also shocked the opposing forces through well organized charges. Alexander the Great deployed his cavalry to great effectiveness in his conquests, but as riders' equipment and armor became heavier, new horses capable of carrying great loads in battle were bred. The Romans raised their own cavalry, but generally it was an afterthought to the organization of the legion.

The Middle Ages saw the rise of the knight, a fully armored individual riding into battle on a noble steed, but the appearance of cannons and rifles spelled the end of medieval warfare. Cavalry came into their own to range far and wide behind enemy lines and cause chaos. In the United States, the horse was instrumental in the spread of American military influence, and though cavalry rarely fought each other head on, it remained an essential unit within an army.

The machine guns and barbed wires of the First World War spelled the end of the cavalry. Unable to ride through and accomplish the promised smashing of the enemy line, horses were instead hitched to carriages to transport ammunitions and the wounded. The Second World War saw the last vestiges of horse warfare when the Polish cavalry charged the German tanks invading in September 1939. Horses continue to play a role in military units, but this has been greatly diminished, and the cavalry now rides tanks.

Fans of military history will appreciate this concise book and the information it provides about conflicts and the evolution of the horse's role in the military.

Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War

Deibel, Zachary. Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War. Part of the Primary Sources of Westward Expansion series. 2018. 64p. ISBN 978-1-5026-2643-1. Available at 973.62 DEI on the library shelves.

With the purchase of the Louisiana Territory and its exploration complete, the United States turned to surveying and occupying this new land. The idea of Manifest Destiny, that Americans were destined to control the continent from sea to sea, became anchored in the popular imagination. Who else was better suited to rule this space than White Protestants English speakers? As it continued to grow, the country began to encroach on European colonies, and acquisitions by peace or by force were inevitable. The new country acquired Florida, and open revolt in Mexico led to the establishment of Texas as a Republic. The conflict simmered and led to the Mexican-American War, where the United States army defeated the Mexicans. In the resulting peace settlement, the United States acquired Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and California.

Relations with Native American groups encountered during the western expansion were also negative, with Americans stealing land and forcing Native Americans to move under duress. Manifest Destiny also impacted foreign relations, with the United States announcing that no European powers could dabble in the affairs of the American continents.

This period of expansion led to the country being what it is today, but also caused untold heartaches and destruction as whole ways of lives were irremediably changed.

Books in the Primary Sources of Westward Expansion series include Native American Resistance, Homesteading and Settling the Frontier, The Gold Rush, The Transcontinental Railroad, Lewis and Clark and Exploring the Louisiana Purchase, and Manifest Destiny and the Mexican-American War.