Synopses & Reviews
The young daughter of an English-born U. S. infantry officer on the post-Civil War frontier, Mary Leefe Laurence had the childhood of an army nomad, accompanying the regiment from south Texas to the Canadian border. In faithfully recording her travels, she offers extensive and unique insight into life as a child and adolescent in the twilight of the Indian-fighting army.
Review
"For children, who didnt know they were living under hardship, life on a western military post was exciting. . . . This account records a childs view of the militarys last hurrah in the West."—Denver Post Denver Post
Review
"The only known book-length memoir of childhood in the post-Civil War army . . . This rare memoir deserves a wide audience."—Kansas History Kansas History
Review
"Written in 1944-45, the book offers Mary Leefe Laurences eyewitness account, from ages six to 26, of life at a series of frontier forts, including Fort Dodge and Fort Leavenworth. . . . Laurence offers rare glimpses of Western life and of a handful of historic figures, including Geronimo."—Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Thomas T. Smith is a regular army lieutenant colonel of infantry assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas. He is the editor of A Dose of Frontier Soldiering (Nebraska 1996).