The dependable and matter-of-fact John Ordway was one of the mainstays of the Corps of Discovery; promoted early on to sergeant and serving as an able leader during the captains' absence. Fascinated by the peoples and places he encountered; Ordway became the most faithful journalist on the expedition—recording information not found elsewhere and making an entry for every day during the expedition. Ordway later married and became a prosperous owner of two plantations in Missouri. His honest and informative account; which remained undiscovered for a century; offers an unforgettable glimpse of an enlisted man's experiences and observations as he and the Corps of Discovery embarked on the journey of a lifetime. In contrast to Ordway's extensive chronicle stands the far-too-brief but intriguingly detailed eyewitness account of Sergeant Charles Floyd; the only member to die on the expedition. The journals of John Ordway and Charles Floyd are part of the celebrated Nebraska edition of the complete journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition; which feature a wide range of new scholarship on all aspects of the expedition from geography to Indian cultures and languages to plants and animals.
#970434 in Books University of Nebraska Press 1990-12-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x 1.57 x 5.98l; 2.32 #File Name: 0803265859712 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A different take on Medieval WarfareBy Mike GooI was attracted to this book because of the emphasis on German history. The majority of books on this subject in English focus too heavily on England (which was a backwater kingdom during this period). Many of the battles and engagements in the book I had never heard of and I found it very enlightening.The book was originally written in German and published in Berlin in 1923. So some of the grammar can be disjointed and I attribute this to the translation. But this doesn't detract from the ideas that Delbruck puts forward; since modern scholars are still debating the ideas of Medieval knighthood. I think he really wanted to brush away the romantic Victorian notions of Knights that were (and still are) prevalent at the time.I think it was refreshing that he did not devote a whole section to the hundred years war. As a German he knew that Medieval Germany was constantly at war during the Medieval Period and chose to focus on it. So this book puts a heavier emphasis on the defeat of the Hungarians; the Teutonic conquest; the campaigns of the Holy Roman Emperors in Italy; and the feuds of the German nobility.One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the history of the Swiss military machine. Most books treat the Swiss as skilled mercenaries that suddenly materialized out of the ether to batter their enemies. Delbruck analyzes how the Swiss military system came into being during their battles for independence during the Medieval Period. History that is mainly relegated to footnotes in the majority of histories.So read this book if you are really dedicated to studying Medieval Warfare and history and tired of the same Anglo-centric histories.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Medieval European HistoryBy Denny HThis is the third volume produced by Dr Delbruck challenging the accuracy and reliability of earlier works to correctly evaluate military history. One of his main premises was to challenge the viability of some of the earlier writings of military history and to use modern methods to come to a more realistic assessment of the size of armies and their capabilities.This is a major and monumental work; from Charlemagne to the emergence of the Swiss. It illustrates the relative swings between the cavalryman and the infantryman as the king of the battlefield as technology advanced; so that by then end of the period; the mounted armoured knight has had to give way to the Swiss pikemen in squares. From thereonin; the knights would transform themselves as cavalrymen.An excellent; thoughtful and entertaining work on strategy and tactics.24 of 26 people found the following review helpful. A Refreshingly Different Look at Medieval WarfareBy George R DekleMost historians speak of the Middle Ages as a period when cavalry had the ascendancy over infantry. Delbruk argues that there was no such thing as cavalry during the Middle Ages; and until the coming of the Swiss phalanx; not much in the way of infantry. Simply putting an armed man on horseback doesn't make him a cavalryman any more than handing a weapon to a peasant makes him an infantryman. Cavalry was a disciplined group of horsemen fighting as a unit. Mounted knights were an undisciplined group of horsemen fighting as individuals. A troop of cavalry should be able to defeat an equal number of knights; but a single knight defeats a single cavalryman. For a good description of what the military aspect of mounted knighthood was all about; read Delbruk's description of the encounter between two knightly armies at Pillenreuth. That alone is worth the price of the book.Delbruk doesn't stop with a description of the military art of knighthood. He studies every aspect of medival warfare; drawing insightful and iconoclastic conclusions.
