The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 105, July 2001 - April, 2002 Page: 190

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

inform and influence the nation's images of the trans-Mississippi West and its
people. The army aided emigrants, built roads and telegraphs, and improved
rivers; working hand-in-hand with railroad companies, soldiers protected sur-
veying and construction teams. Military contracts and payrolls were an impor-
tant economic boom. Army surgeons provided invaluable, if unofficial, med-
ical care to civilians, and retired western veterans often became important
community leaders.
Although his book is largely descriptive, Tate does offer tantalizing bits of
analysis. In its role as de facto law enforcement agency and posse comitatus (a
duty most soldiers abhorred), during civil disorders, race riots, and strikes,
"officers inevitably favored one party over the other" (p. 1 lo). Not surprisingly,
losers in such contests lashed out against army interference, badly tarnishing
the army's image. Somewhat countering these negative perceptions was the
high praise accorded the innumerable public relief projects undertaken by the
bluecoats. More generally, Tate successfully develops most of his broader
themes. Minor exceptions come in sections dealing with army agriculture, edu-
cation, and religion, which do not fully integrate internal army affairs into the
larger western context.
Although strangely ignored by most "New Western Historians," many scholars
have long recognized the army's importance to nineteenth-century western set-
tlement and development. The present synthesis breaks little new ground, but
ties "together the diverse topics into an understandable whole" (p. xvi) better
than any other book. Experts and novices alike will find innumerable nuggets
here, many of which are drawn from Texas. The bibliography is first-rate and
the prose clear and informative. By incorporating these strands into a conve-
nient package, Tate has greatly eased the burdens of non-military historians
seeking to develop a truly inclusive history of Texas and the American West.
Texas A&M Unzverszty-Corpus Chnstz ROBERT WOOSTER
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848. Edited by the Dofia Ana Historical Society.
(Las Cruces, N.M.: Dofia Ana County Historical Society and Yucca Tree
Press, 1999. Pp. ix+ioo. List of illustrations, introduction, illustrations,
maps. ISBN 1-881325-39-3. $11.95, paper.)
This work is a collection of essays presented at a sesquicentennial symposium
sponsored by the Dofia Ana County Historical Society to commemorate the
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The six essays look at the implementation of the
treaty and its subsequent effects. The collection is a mixture of situational
overviews and specific case studies. Richard Griswold del Castillo gives an excel-
lent overview of the subsequent negotiations needed to clarify boundaries set by
the treaty. These include the controversy over the Mesilla Strip, difficulties caused
by changes in the course of the Rio Grande, and what he considers to be the
most significant conflict, that over the Chamizal tract (which became part of
downtown El Paso). For 155 years the Mexican government challenged the U.S.
and Texas claims to the tract and claimed victory when President Kennedy finally

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