REDLEGS: The U.S. Artillery

Named Redlegs after the red stripes on their trousers, this volume in the popular G.I. series illustrates a much-neglected aspect of American military history - the U.S. Army artillerymen. Artillery was a vital arm and proved its worth in diverse theatres of war; artillerymen served as part of mobile columns, in sieges and blockades, and as garrisons in remote frontier forts. The photographs, most of them rarely seen in other sources, range from the Civil War and the campaigns against the American Indians, through to the Spanish-American War, and descriptive captions detail uniforms and equipment and the ordnance used over the years. On page nine there is a huge coloured image of a Light Artillery Sargeant in 1861 in dress uniform, holding the M1840 Light Artillery Saber and looking especially handsome and smart. There are dress caps, decorative shoulder straps, plumed hats with scarlet worsted cords ending in tassels and a crossed cannon insignia, lined capes, heavily braided dress uniform and portraits of important officers to powerful 24-pounder siege guns and campaign hats with acorn tips. Over 100 rare archive photos, 72 page extra large softback.