The Second Colorado Cavalry

“Few Civil War regiments engaged in as wide a range of operations as the Second Colorado Cavalry. Adding to recent scholarship that links the Civil War and the conquest of the West, Christopher Rein effectively locates the regiment in political, economic, and environmental context and demonstrates the similarities in warfare against Confederate guerrillas in Missouri and Native Americans on the Plains. Deeply researched and richly detailed, The Second Colorado Cavalry persuasively connects western, military, and Civil War history.”—Samuel J. Watson, author of Peacekeepers and Conquerors: The Army Officer Corps on the American Frontier, 1821–1846
 

“Christopher Rein’s rich and deft combination of military, social, and environmental history forcefully illustrates the complexity of the Civil War. Offering far more than a regimental history, Rein connects the conflict between North and South to the conquest of the Great Plains and reveals how the Second Colorado Cavalry became unwitting ‘agents of empire.’”—Daniel E. Sutherland, author of A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War
 

“The Second Colorado Cavalry appears at first blush to be another Civil War regimental history of a forgotten unit in a faraway theater—but readers will be rewarded with a rich and nuanced narrative of the multisided War for the Great Plains. Christopher Rein makes a strong contribution to a growing body of scholarship on the Civil War and the struggle for power in the Far West.”—Andy Masich, author of Civil War in the Southwest Borderlands, 1861–1867
 

“While presenting an engaging and detailed history of the Second Colorado Cavalry, the author explores the complex cultural terrain of the time. Although the Civil War and the Indian Wars are generally seen as starkly separated, such a distinction may not be justified. The story of this vast region becoming part of America is more complex and nuanced than a simple, linear recitation of history allows. The author’s presentation of this aspect of our history is thought provoking and worthy of consideration.”—Journal of America’s Military Past

“In addition to finally bringing the neglected Second the attention it richly deserves, Christopher Rein's The Second Colorado Cavalry holds the added distinction of being the only full-length, modern history of a volunteer regiment raised in the territory. Thankfully, it is by every measure an exceedingly fine one.”—Civil War Books and Authors
 

“This book belongs on the shelves of all military historians studying the 1850s and 1860s, regardless of where they work or which region of the nation they specialize in. Superbly linking seemingly disparate episodes of violence stretching over a vast swath of territory, Christopher Rein has written an eye-opening book.”—New Mexico Historical Review